Strawberry Assassin
by lemonlimediddies
Summary: Ichigo's a master assassin who's not supposed to have a heart. Gimmjow's determined to mess with normality. Ichigo is dealing with insanity, new targets, new friends, and new loves. How's he supposed to handle life when it's thrown at him so harshly?
1. Assassin

A/N:

Oh hi! Don't know if this story is going to be very good, but I'm excited about it!

**Chapter Warnings: **OOC, Mentions of Murder.

**Characters Introduced: **Ichigo Kurosaki, Urahara Kisuke, Yoruichi Shihōin, and Uryū Ishida.

* * *

**Assassin**: One who murders by surprise attack, especially one who carries out a plot to kill a prominent person.

_"Hello, I'm crime scene reporter Kimi Watson streaming to you live from Governor Jonathan Willson's home. As you can see behind me, his family is simply heartbroken. About one hour ago someone broke into the Governor's private estate while Jonathan was getting ready for bed. His wife, Nancy, and sixteen year old son Stuart Wilson were apparently sleeping when the intruder broke in and apprehended the eighty year old Jonathan. Nancy and Stuart both claim they heard nothing at all, not even while their loved one was killed. Police believe that the murderer is none other than the worldwide assassin called 'Ogichi', who is a nationally wanted criminal and murderer. Criminal investigators are already searching the house for evidence, but so far they have found no traces of an intruder inside and outside of the estate. Now I'd like to send you over to Maya Rivers, who is currently at the local police station with the leader of the investigation. Maya?"_

_"Thank you Kimi, that is simply horrible and I send my regards to the Willson family. Now I'm standing here with local police chief Shinji Hirako who has been working with investigators all over Japan and other areas around the world, who have had troubles with this assassin 'Ogichi' and other wanted assassins like him. Hirako-san, can you describe what's its like to be chasing this person who calls himself Ogihi?"_

_"Oh man its absolutely horrible. I mean the guy must be a master at covering his tracks, 'cause he never leaves anything behind fer us. No finger prints, no footprints, not even any strands of hair. It's like chasing a freakin' shadow. A murderin' shadow!"_

_"I see. So, no one knows anything about Ogichi's physical characteristics than?_

_"No, none at all."_

_"Okay than, tell me about his famous uniform. I've heard many things about it. Care to describe it for the viewers?"_

_"Well, its kind of hard to explain Maya, because the five actual pictures of him are all blurry. He always wears this cloak, its pure white, with the hood up over his __head which hides his face even more than it already is. Then, there's his _mask. _Give's me the chills just thinkin' 'bout it."_

_"Oh? Why is that Hirako-san? Is there something wrong with it?"_

_"Well if you think a mask that looks like its about to eat yer soul right from your body is wrong, than yes. Something is defiantly wrong with it."_

_"Oh my! Another quick question Hirako-san, why do you think police believe Ogichi is the killer?"_

_"Well he's really unlike any other typical murderer out there— I'll correct myself; Ogichi is not a murderer, he's an assassin. A bloody assassin that the investigators, including myself, can't seem to catch."_

_"And that was also the case today?"_

_"Yeah Maya, it was. There is absolutely no way this crime was done by anyone besides the infamous Ogichi and personally I think-!"_

Ichigo didn't even blink as a hand swooped down to grab the remote out of his grasp and cut the power to the TV off abruptly. The teenager sighed. He had really wanted to hear more of their comments on Ogichi's recent killing. Ichigo's recent killing. The brutal one that had happened less than two hours ago, and already Ogichi was headlining every news channel and every one of tomorrow's papers. Ichigo reclined his head back against the lumpy brown couch he was on to look at the person still standing behind him. It was difficult because of the poor lighting, but Ichigo would know that green and white stripped hat anywhere.

"Yes, Urahara-san?"

"Make sure not to call me by my real name in public, kid."

"Yes, sir." The teen replied respectfully to his teacher.

"Why are you watching that Ichigo?" The blond man asked as he walked over to the side of the couch to look at the teenager's face more easily. He knew Ichigo had just finished a very important job, and earned a bunch of money for his dangerous excursion.

"Its interesting."

"Well quit watching TV and get yourself in gear. We just got another job. Get your stuff packed and get dressed, were heading out as soon as possible."

"How much is this one worth?" Ichigo asked suddenly extremely interested in the case. Money was always on of the important aspects of killing. They got paid tons of cash every time a job was completed, and the money paid for their very luxurious life and Urahara's fake candy business he owned. The taller man hid his grin behind a purple fan and shrugged his shoulders, nonchalantly.

"Oh I don't know, maybe a million yen or so."

The teen gasped and abruptly stood up knocking some dust to fly into the dimly lit room. They flew away in random directions as Ichigo smiled and practically bounded with excitement.

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Hell yes! Now hurry up and get you mask and cloak. We got a long trip and some more crimes to commit!" Urahara said while stripping off his dirty clothes, and replacing them with fresh clothes that looked exactly the same. The older man paid no heed to the teen still in the room as he put on the black turtle neck and equally jet black slacks. Urahara looked up from trying his black dress shoes to see Ichigo still standing there.

"Ichigo, what part of 'hurry up' do you not understand?"

"Oh!" Ichigo practically skipped to his room. Ichigo's room was painted black and red, with his large bed against the left wall in the center. There was a little night stand next to the bed and a dresser next to his closet door on the opposite wall. A full length mirror was on the left side of the bed and was slightly cracked at the bottom from the time Ichigo passed out and fell against it with all his weight. Memories.

The orange haired teenager grabbed a medium sized bag to carry all his needed items in. It was a special bag, made by Urahara himself. Urahara wasn't only a top-notch assassin, but also one of the best scientists in the world. He made the bag so that it would hide all sorts of illegal items in without the chance of them being found. That way the bags could be brought onto a plane and there was no chance of them being caught.

His bare feet made small noises on the wood flooring as Ichigo shuffled towards his dresser to grab the clothes he wanted to pack. A few tee-shirts and blue jean pants, with a bunch of colorful underwear courtesy of Urahara. Ichigo also grabbed a white dress shirt, black slacks, and some dress shoes to wear to the airport. Ichigo quickly slipped his current clothes off and piled them in the floor, not really caring about them at the moment. He put the shirt on and started to button it up with fingers that were shaking slightly with excitement. After that was done he pulled on the pants, a little too quickly, and got his legs stuck in one of the leg holes, falling onto the floor with a 'thud'.

"Shit!" He swore while picking himself off the floor and putting the slacks on for a second time without falling. He then put on his socks and black leather shoes, while picking out a color for the tie he was going to wear.

"Urahara!" Ichigo yelled down the hallway.

"Yes?" The blond man yelled his answer back.

"What color tie should I wear?"

Urahara paused to think for a moment before yelling back. "I vote for red!"

"Thanks!" Ichigo ran over to his tie collection, which consisted over many varying colors and shades and grabbed a blood red one to put on.

After packing two bags full of clothes and items he didn't want to leave behind, Ichigo only had two more items that needed to be packed. He walked over to the corner of his room and wiggled one of his floorboards until it was loose enough to pull out, and set the piece of wood to the side. Beneath the wood was some hay which Ichigo quickly scooted to the side and bright white filled his vision. Ogichi's cloak. Ichigo grabbed the item and folded it gently before setting it in Urahara's special black bag. Lastly Ichigo looked down the hole and his mask looked back. He locked eyes with it and smiled.

When he put that mask on he was no longer Ichigo Kurosaki, he'd be Ogichi. The assassin. The mass murderer and most wanted criminal. He would loose himself and forget about being the sixteen year old boy who went to school and had a family, but the thing was, Ichigo didn't care. He loved being Ogichi more than anything. It was euphoric, and Ichigo was addicted to that feeling. Once he was Ogichi, Ichigo felt like nothing could stop him.

There were two reasons Ichigo was different from other assassin in Japan. Number one; his skill. He was one of the best, maybe _the_ best. He felt like a celebrity when it came to him being on the news and being on 'wanted' posters.

The second difference was his worldwide involvement. Everyone knew Ogichi, everyone feared Ogichi, and everyone guarded against Ogichi; well tried.

Ichigo was grinning widely while pictures of his most recent murder of the Governor flashed through his head. Quickly he picked his precious mask up and gently put it on top of his cloak, and zipped the bag.

Ichigo strolled over to the mirror to look at himself one more time before grabbing all his bags and waltzing back down the hallway to the waiting Urahara, as fast as he could. After all, his master and a million dollar job were anxiously waiting for him.

* * *

Urahara was waiting at the kitchen table with his partner in crime, a dark skinned woman with purple hair pulled back. Yoruichi was one of the people Urahara trusted with his life and more. She had been with him since he became an assassin, and she had taught him things Urahara was sure any _normal_ person wouldn't ever want to know in their lifetime.

She was good, actually she was great at what she did, but her skill didn't even compare to Urahara's student Ichigo. Ogichi was a natural, he might have even been born with the talent to kill. Who knows?

Ichigo walked in looking absolutely lethal. Scowl in place, the orangette was handsome and deadly both at the same time. Urahara had to admit, Ichigo's aura was threatening sometimes. Ichigo looked at Yoruichi and smiled questioningly.

"Kitty's coming too?" Kitty has been Yoruichi's nickname ever since she was in high school and use to wear cat ears to class, which caused the students to make up a ridiculous name for her weird behavior.

"Yes, Ichigo I'm coming too. Three is better and safer than two, no?"

Ichigo smirked. "Are you concerned for us?"

Yoruichi was fast, and Ichigo was in her embrace on the floor before he could even register what was even going on. Urahara laughed at her attack and watched with a smile as the woman started to stroke Ichigo's hair.

"Lose the cocky attitude kid. Ichigo, you're like a son to me, and that guy over there," she pointed her thumb backwards to the grinning Urahara, "he would be like a husband to me, but I could never imagine myself with a creep like him."

"Plus I'm gay." Urahara shrugged while sipping his black coffee.

"Plus he's gay." She repeated.

Ichigo winced as her fingers combed out a tangle in his hair. The teen hadn't really bothered with it lately, and it wasn't like anyone could tell anyways. Ichigo still smiled and tried to enjoy the positive attention while it lasted, which happened to be only five minutes. After the peaceful minutes were up, Urahara stood and pulled out a few designed jackets that were designed to go down past the knees.

The one he threw at Yoruichi was black with rhinestones along the edges and some real animal fur lining the collar and inside of the coat. Ichigo held his up and scowled even deeper.

"Urahara!" He growled when the teenager noticed the strawberry embroidered on his breast pocket. The jacket itself had black and white horizontal lines all over it which made Ichigo feel like an escaped prisoner or something like that. Urahara and Yoruichi both laughed at his expression as the young assassin pulled it on along with his favorite red scarf.

Urahara's jacket was just plain black, so when he pulled it on they were officially ready to go. Ichigo thought it was funny how they had never been caught before. They were so obvious sometimes, even daring to carry their masks around in public with them occasionally. They were so obvious, they weren't obvious. Their friends even went as far as to say that they were good people with high education and were on the right path. How wrong they were.

Ichigo was extremely happy that Urahara had got someone to carry their luggage for them. Ichigo was strong and wasn't weak, but he didn't really feel like carrying the bags through the large throngs of people in the lobby. They had servants for anything, laundry, sweeping, dishes, and now bag carrying. Ichigo, Urahara, and Yoruichi along with their bag-carriers got into the personal elevator and headed up to floor level, where the lobby was located at.

* * *

As the six people stepped off Urahara's elevator, occupants in the lobby stopped what they were doing to quickly bow and then carry on their tasks.

None of them really paid attention to the busy workers as they made their way to the front desk where a geeky looking male was furiously typing on the computer. He man looked up as Urahara's shadow fell upon him, and he stood and bowed deeply before sitting down in his computer chair.

"Urahara-sama, what can I do for you?" He asked. Urahara fanned himself and held it over his cheeky grin and tapped the ground with his newly acquired wooden cane.

"Actually I was hoping we had a couple of plane tickets to Karakura Town waiting for us Ishida-kun." Urahara said sweetly to his front desk worker. Ishida was one of Urahara and Ichigo's friends, and accomplices. He knew about both of their true identities and was actually fine with it. So far he had done nothing but help and run The Shoten while they were both busy on missions.

"But of course." The boy pushed up his glasses and reached down into one of the desk drawers to retrieve three silver plane tickets. Urahara shoved them deep into on of his pockets and held out his hand for Ishida to shake.

"Thank you Ishida-kun~!" He sang cheerfully. Ichigo wanted to laugh at the display. Urahara wasn't so happy and laughing around many people, he was actually quite serious most of the time. Since he was in public though, the blond was acting like an immature idiot. Next to him Yoruichi was thinking the same thing while fixing her hair in a pocket mirror she always carried.

"Please be careful Urahara-sama, Kurosaki, and Yoruichi-sama." Ishida muttered from behind some paperwork he had in front of his face.

"Yes of course! Hold down the fort for us. Call me if we have any _customers_ come in."

Ishida smirked and moved the paperwork from in front of his face. His cheeks were a little red now and he seemed a little worried, but no the less he was more than willing to help his 'Urahara-sama'. Ichigo knew Urahara was talking about the men and women who came in offering them 'jobs' to kill people or protect people. The jobs that actually mattered to Urahara, and not this candy company he used as a cover-up for his base down below. Only Ishida, Ichigo, Yoruichi, and himself knew about it because no one besides those four were allowed to use to only elevator that led to it.

"I will call you right away if anyone drops by, sir."

"I can always count on you!" After that was said to the blushing Ishida, they all turned and headed for the limo outside waiting for them. Ishida sighed as the five men and one woman disappeared into the crowds of people. He was always worrying about their safety not that it mattered. Those three wouldn't stop taking jobs even if it killed them. Being an assassin was a dangerous obsession they all had, and were not quite ready to give up.

* * *

Ichigo sat next to the window and across from Urahara and Yoruichi in the limo. Yoruichi had her legs crossed and her hands neatly folded in her lap. Urahara was in a similar position. Ichigo relished the warmth coming from the heater in the limo. Outside the frigid air was so cold, many people weren't leaving their houses on a regular basis like normal. Ichigo watched as people walking on the sidewalk held their jackets close and rubbed their hands together to keep some warmth on freezing skin. The teen observed as someone ran hurriedly on the sidewalk and abruptly fell, slipping on the ice that was scattered on random places across the sidewalk.

Ichigo barked out a loud laughed and it dissolved into a furious case of the giggles. Something about people falling made Ichigo lose it, and laugh like it was the funniest thing in the world.

Urahara and Yoruichi looked at Ichigo questioningly. "What so funny?" Urahara asked after Ichigo stopped laughing.

"People on the sidewalk keep slipping on ice. Its fucking hilarious!"

Yoruichi and the blond male looked at each other for a second before moving closer to the window to try and spot someone fall. People were bustling around busily, and it wasn't long until they spotted another person fall victim to the ice. They all three laughed as a warmly dressed woman fell causing people around her to help her up and ask if she was okay.

"That was rather funny wasn't it?" The woman said after everyone had settled down and moved away from the windows and closer to the heating vents. Both men nodded their agreement with childlike wonder in their eyes and large grins spread on their faces.

They all sat in silence for a few minutes before Ichigo's curiosity go the best of him.

"Hey Urahara, this limo is sound proof isn't it?" He asked his teacher who owned the limo they were currently sitting in.

Once again he drew his fan up to his face and covered his grin.

"Why of course my darling Ichigo! Why do you ask?"

"This new job in Karakura Town, you never gave me the details on it."

"Oh~? I suppose it slipped my mind then." He said smiling again. Ichigo scowled. Urahara's smiles were starting to get annoying.

"Everything slips your mind, old man." Yoruichi chimed in and playfully punched Urahara's arm. She laughed when Urahara made a hurt facial expression and held his arm close to his body.

"But I'm only thirty-two!" He groaned and palmed his face with his 'unhurt' hand.

"Yes, and I'm only twenty one and Ichigo is only sixteen." She said back with a smirk on her face. She always won verbal battles with Urahara.

"That's not fair! Just because you guys are super young, doesn't mean I'm actually _old_!" He countered with wide eyes and his bottom lip pouting. He looked like a puppy.

"Calm down Urahara! You're supposed to be telling me about the job we got, not arguing about your age." Ichigo muttered when he got fed up with the two adults' annoying bickering.

The older man sigh and cleared his throat while the purple haired woman snickered in victory.

"A young anonymous man came by yesterday requesting we kill the man who his wife cheated on him with." Urahara said while fishing around his leather briefcase to find the notes he took on the case. Finally he got them out and waved them around to show everyone he found it before reading from it.

"Renji Abarai, 5'9 with vivid red hair in a ponytail. Tattoos on his face and body and crazy looking eyebrows. Weight is 168 pounds. He's one of the co-owners of 'Seireitei Corporation', which manufactures and sells plastic all around the world. Plus he's a millionaire. Got a six story mansion, pool, in-home theater, bowling arena, and the works."

Ichigo laughed. "Well I guess the poor guy got with the wrong married woman, now he gets to die. Just my kind of murder, don't ya think?" The teenager laughed.

"I _love_ killing the rich ones!"

* * *

"Hey Urahara?"

"Yes, Ichigo?" Ichigo's teacher asked back. He looked at the orangette and met his eyes so they were being more respective of each other.

"What am I supposed to do about school work?" Ichigo had always been a top student at school, and although he had switched schools quite a few times, he had never once made anything below a B on his report cards and tests. Many colleges were already sending him brochures, asking for him to consider their college over all the other ones. He wasn't actually going to attend college, because his life was so dangerous he wasn't willing to take out a loan when his life wasn't guaranteed the next day.

Urahara smirked as he reached behind the seat and grabbed a very heavy, and very bright colored orange backpack and slung it at the scowling teenager. Ichigo gasped at the heavy object filled his vision and he held out both hands to catch the flying object.

"Bastard!" Ichigo hissed as he let the heavy bag fall to the limo's carpeted flooring with a 'thump'.

"Yes I know Ichigo~!" He sang and fanned the air around him with a smile. A piece of Urahara's hair was resting on his nose, but the offending hair didn't seem to bother Urahara as much as it bothered Ichigo. Ichigo sighed as the annoying man kept ranting about meaningless things, and Yoruichi seemed to be ignoring him. Even though it was hard to drown out his loud voice, Ichigo feared he would go insane if Urahara's rambling kept reaching his ears; so Ichigo took out his Ipod touch and put the music on full blast.

There was no way he was going insane this early in his life.

* * *

Ichigo jumped when Yoruichi shook him out of his stupor, and the teen pulled his ear buds out to hear what she had to say.

"Come on Ichigo, we're here."

Outside the limo was a busy airport, with hundreds of people walking towards their plane with luggage and pets. They was a huge variety of people there; nerds, jocks, old people, gangsters, lovebirds, moms and dads, people who didn't even know English, and flight attendants and workers. They were all busily scrambling about with children tugging them to the nearest kiosk to buy a snack. Ichigo frowned. He really hated people.

Urahara ushered him to the bag drop off, and watched as his little secretive black bag went into the machine as the walked though the metal detector. They were cleared and so was the luggage. Ichigo held in his laugh as they picked up his three bags and put them on the luggage cart for their plane to Karakura Town.

"Ichigo, you ready?" Yoruichi asked as they presented their tickets to the worker and made their way on the plane to their first class seats. The teen reclined as soon as he got in the expensive part of the cab and sat down. His feet were killing him!

"When am I not ready?" Ichigo smirked as he answered her question with another question. The woman smiled as she took her seat next to Urahara and put her feet up as well.

"I guess you're right."


	2. Teal

A/N:

Well hello!:) Tell me if there are any problems!

**Chapter Warnings: **OOC, Bad writing.

**Characters Introduced: **Isshin Kurosaki, Karin Kurosaki, Yuzu Kurosaki, Sousuke Aizen, Szayel Aporro Granz, Gin Ichimaru, Kaname Tōsen, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.

**OC: **Tanaka Kiyoshi.

* * *

**Teal:** A moderate or dark bluish green to greenish blue.

Ichigo felt like throwing up as soon as he walked off the plane he had been on for almost three hours. Karakura Town was so much smaller and old looking than the city where he had been living in. There were no bright lights and skyscrapers blocking the sky. The orange head sighed as he grabbed his bags along with Urahara and Yoruichi and made their way to a limo already waiting in front of the airport.

"Urahara where are we going to be staying at?" The teen asked as they sat down on the leather seats and got comfortable. Urahara gave Ichigo a creepy smile before answering.

"There is a underground base here called 'Las Noches' where a lot of people like us seek safety and shelter." Urahara said while scratching his unshaven chin.

"So it's basically like a base camp for assassins? How do you even know about this place Urahara?"

The older man laughed and elbowed Yoruichi who scowled at him, irritated.

"The man who owns the place was one of my dear college friends. He let me and Yoru-chan stay there when we were first starting out as assassins." He said giggling a little. The old man must have been remembering things from the old days or something of the sort, because all of a sudden he had a smile on his face and was staring out into space. Weird old man.

Ichigo looked over at Yoruichi and nodded towards Urahara. "Does he do that every time he gets near Las Noches?"

The woman sighed and closed the magazine she was reading. "I sure hope not."

Ichigo laughed and sat back in his seat so he could look out the window to pass time. There were trees here and lots of other green things unlike in the city. He kind of missed all the grass and being able to see the open sky, which were both rare because of all the building in the city. Ichigo sighed and crossed his legs.

He actually knew where they were at the moment. They were on a street Ichigo could remember playing on when he was a kid. They passed some swings where a few children were at and Ichigo could remember when he was five, and his dad would always take him there to play. With that memory Ichigo felt uncertainty surge through his body and he slowly turned his head to Urahara.

"Hey old man."

Urahara blinked and looked at him with wide eyes and furrowed eyebrows. "Ichigo, for the last time I'm not old!" The blond man frowned and fake cried while Ichigo just got more worried.

"We're going to my house aren't we?" The boy asked while playing with his finger on his lap. Ichigo most certainly wasn't expecting to see them anytime soon. After all these years, what would his dad think? Ichigo was getting just thinking about his old man and two little sister who he abandoned.

Urahara pulled out a yellow fan with a snap and fanned the warm air around him. "Of course my dear Ichigo! We couldn't come all the way out here and not see your family, now could we~?"

"Urahara..." Ichigo said with pain in his voice. His family was very important to him and the orange head had always tried to keep them out of Ogichi's business. It wasn't really safe to involve his two little sister and slightly crazy dad in his murderous affairs, was it?Ichigo had successfully avoided his family for years with the help of Urahara. Ichigo scoffed. _Traitor_.

Ichigo felt like throwing up when the limo pulled up into his old driveway. The house was still the same as Ichigo remembered from his childhood. How old were Karin and Yuzu now? Four years ago would mean, they were twelve now. Ichigo was pained to even think about his little sisters growing up with a mass murderer for a brother.

The driver walked around to the door and opened for the three assassins to get out. This was only going to be a brief stay anyways, Urahara and Ichigo had more important things to do.

Ichigo led the walk up to the front door, Urahra and Yoruichi following behind. The teen sighed and drug his hand though orange hair painfully before gently knocking on the door. He waiting a few moments before foot steps could be heard coming towards the door, and while this was happenin Ichigo started to panic.

_What will they think of me now? Do they hate? Did they miss me? Am I going to bother them? Should we leave before they answer the door?_

Ichigo realized it was too late to back out when the door slowly cracked open to reveal a small blond haired girl yawning tiredly. She looked at the three people standing there while rubbing the sleep out if her brown eyes. She still looked relatively the same as she did four years ago.

"How can I help you?" The little girl asked in a polite voice. She was wearing silk pajamas, with a robe tied around her small body tightly.

"Yuzu?" Ichigo asked in a timid voice. He couldn't even recognize her from his memories. Behind the teen, Urahara smirked. Ichigo was always brave and never shy about anything, except when it came to his family. It was weird how Ichigo could change from scowling and being grumpy to being scared and nervous.

"I-Ichigo?" Said orange haired teen looked up to see his dad standing in the doorway with wide eyes and a very confused expression.

"Hey Dad. Can we come in?"

The older man scratched his beard and moved to the side, a silent invitation for Ichigo and company to come inside. Isshin Kurosaki looked at Urahara as his old friend made his way inside with a smirk followed by an also smiling Yoruichi. Soon the group was sitting in a nicely furnished living room, with Yuzu and Karin sitting on Ichigo's lap with big smiles and wide eyes.

"Onii-chan, we missed you!" Yuzu squealed and her dark haired twin nodded her agreement. Ichigo laughed and ruffled the girls' hair causing them to giggle in delight even more.

"I missed you guys too."

"Where have you been Ichi-nii?" Karin said. The small girl adjusted herself on Ichigo's lap to get more comfortable, while the other occupants in the room listened intently. Ichigo was feeling weird emotions inside of him from being around his family. They were still the accepting and loving family he left four years ago...

A cough came from the other side of the room and Ichigo looked up to see his dad watching him with curious eyes. He cleared his throat before speaking his mind.

"Yeah, where have you been son?"

"I moved to the city with Urahara and Yoruichi-"

_Truth._

"So I could help the with Urahara's candy business-"

_Lie._

"Because I've always thought being a business man would be interesting-"

_Lie!_

"And Urahara picked me up so suddenly I never had time to say goodbye since you and the girls were gone-"

_LIE._

"And by the time we made it to the city, I had remembered that I didn't have your phone number and neither did he-"

_LIE!_

"So we looked in the phone book, but you weren't in there either and we didn't have enough money or time to fly back with school and all."

_So many fucking lies._

Urahara smirked from where he sat. Ichigo really did have the lying thing down. It was so easy for the teenager to spill lies from his lips without even thinking about it. It was a new story every time he told someone about his past or about where he came from, but most of the time Ichigo told the story that had just been spoken to his family.

"Oh, well that's interesting! How is the candy business going for you Urahara?" Isshin causally asked, apparently buying Ichigo's story.

"Maa, maa~ It's all fine Isshin-san~ Tons of our delicious candies are being sold all over the world." Urahara grinned at his old friend. He didn't actually know much about what was going on with his business, the older man left that certain job to Ishida-kun, who was Urahara's most trusted employee.

"Glad to hear it. How long do you plan on staying in town?"

Yoruichi decided she didn't want to be ignored, and casually answered for Ichigo and Urahara. "Only about two months, tops."

Two very _very_ long months away from home, away from the safety of their own base, and away from the easy life they all had back in the city. What a bother.

Isshin frowned deeply and wrinkles appeared on his forehead. "Only two months?"

"Certainly."

Ichigo's dad sighed again. After crossing and uncrossing his legs, the man looked at his son once again. It had been four years since Ichigo had been in Karakura Town and Isshin had to admit, it was hard not having his son around. Although Ichigo had seemingly left them, his love for his only son had not wavered, and the twins and him had been awaiting the day Ichigo returned.

"Where will you all be staying?"

Urahara answered this time. "One of my dear friend's house."

"Oh, I see."

"Don't worry dad," Ichigo said with a slight smile on his usually scowling face. "I'll be sure to come visit you and the girls."

"I'm looking forward to it, son. You've been gone for a long time, Karin and Yuzu have really missed you."

Ichigo smiled sadly and looked down at the now sleeping girls on his lap. The were both gripping a piece of his white dress shirt with little hands, and their small lips were parted in their deep sleep. It was five in the morning after all.

The dark haired man stood up and popped his back before walking over to his sleeping daughters and sweeping them up in his arms carefully. The twins didn't even stir as their father picked them up, instead they cuddled into his broad chest. The man disappeared upstairs quietly and then returned without Karin and Yuzu, who were now peacefully sleeping in their beds.

Urahara and Yoruichi followed Ichigo and his dad to the front door. Outside the sun was starting to dimly light the morning sky, and Ichigo was feeling more than tired. He had been up all night on the plane because of his fear of heights, but thankfully Urahara had stayed up with him. Although the older man had proven himself crazy on more than one occasion, Urahara was a very important person to Ichigo.

"Come back and visit soon Ichigo, and maybe next time it could be at a more appropriate hour."

Ichigo turned around and smiled slightly at his father. Seeing his family was something Ichigo had avoided for many years, but now that he had seen them again Ichigo wasn't really ready to let them fall from his grasp again.

"Don't worry dad. I'll be back soon."

* * *

Driving down the road in the city was always entertaining. You could always see colorful lights and people who did stupid things at any time from dusk till dawn. Driving down the road in Karakura Town...was well...

Boring.

No one was walking around and there were no lights anywhere except for the now rising sun and the street lamps that lit up the road. Ichigo had fallen asleep soon after his departure from his dad's house and had awoken half an hour later to find that they were still driving.

Driving, driving, _driving._

The teenager was quite of being transported around. He hadn't been able to actually rest since he left The Urahra Shoten, which had been hours ago. The orangette sighed. He just wanted to have a nice rest and a soft bed, which Ichigo was hoping this place Urahara was taking him had.

"Urahara~" Ichigo whined. The older man shook his head to wake up a little and looked at his student with drooping, red eyes.

"Don't whine at me so early in the morning, Ichi!" He whined back. Ichigo scoffed, it wasn't his fault he was whining like a kid. The teenager was tired and was on the verge of getting motion sickness.

"It's your fault, stupid! How much farther is this place?"

Urahara looked out the window and inspected the surroundings, which mostly consisted of trees and small hills. Where the hell were they?

"Ahh~" The blond man sighed happily. "We're nearly there."

Yoruichi snored lightly from where she was sleeping against a small pillow pressed to the window. The tan woman had passed out as soon as the trio had got into the car after leaving Isshin's house, and neither Ichigo nor his teacher had the balls to wake Yoruichi up after a long and eventful day.

After fifteen minutes of silent riding, the limo halted and Ichigo felt himself become more awake by the second. Urahara drowsily looked out the tinted window and Ichigo followed his example, looking out the window to find endless amounts of trees littering the area around them.

"Is this the right place?" The teenager asked while stepping out of the vehicle cautiously. The sun was midway up the sky now, signaling it was probably nearing eight or nine in the morning. Yoruichi was shaken awake by Urahara, who was fearing for his life.

"Kisuke!" Yoruichi shouted causing the older man to stumble out of the limo and frantically scramble towards Ichigo. He stood behind Ichigo and used him as a shield while his friend stepped out of the car with a scowl and a dark aurora surrounding her.

"Maa maa, Yoru-chan! I simply wanted to notify you that we have reached the wonderful Las Noches~!"

She tilted her head to the side and smiled. "Really?"

"I am one-hundred percent sure. The entrance is," He pointed to an empty space in the sea of trees, "over there!"

"I don't quite understand Urahara." Ichigo muttered looking around for any kind of entrance, but nothing except lush trees filled his sight. The teen couldn't even spot an actual road, so Ichigo guessed the driver had actually drove out here on the grass.

"Let me lead the way~!" Urahara sang in an overly cheerful voice. The blond man looked at the driver who was still standing near the limo with a blank expression. This was one of Urahara's private drivers, and one of his trusted friends. The driver would never think of uttering a word about his employers actions, even if he didn't truthfully know what was happening. Of course the drivers weren't allowed to know their secret, it was too risky.

"Kiyoshi-chan~" The slightly crazy blond spoke in a sing-song voice while looking at his black haired driver.

_Kiyoshi is his name, huh?_ Ichigo thought while watching Urahara softly converse with the other male. Ichigo didn't really get to know Urahara's drivers nor did he care about what the did after dropping them off. All that mattered to him was that the people driving him kept Ichigo and companies activities to themselves, and never spoke a word of them to anybody.

Kiyoshi looked young, with a fancy black and white suit and equally black hair that was close to reaching his shoulders. The two were acting so familiar with each other, causing Ichigo to get suspicious.

He was about to ask Urahara about what was going on, but Yoruichi's voice sounded out before he could.

"Ne Kisuke, who is this man exactly?" She asked while eying the driver intently.

"Introductions, introductions!" He said while fanning himself with a small white fan that seemingly popped out of nowhere.

"This is Tanaka Kiyoshi-chan, my top quality and most trusted driver. Kiyoshi-chan, that woman is Yoru-chan, and the scowling teenager is Strawberry-chan."

"Stop distorting our names, baka!" Ichigo yelled while he beat Urahara on the head with his fist. The orangette angrily pouted and crossed his arms like a child while Urahara stood up slowly shaking his head.

Yoruichi walked up to Urahara and slapped him across the face, knocking his back onto the grass groaning. She then walked over to Kiyoshi and held out her hand, which he shook with a smile.

"Nice to meet you Tanaka-kun, I'm Yoruichi."

"I see. Nice to meet you Yoruichi-sama." Said woman smirked at the -sama part. She was so full of herself. Ichigo then walked over to the driver and also stuck out his hand to shake, which the raven-haired man took with another large smile.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, don't listen to that old man." The other man giggled causing Ichigo to furrow his brow.

"What?" He asked while the other man was still silently laughing. His blue eyes were shining in the new sunlight, and Kiyoshi was starting to freak Ichigo out.

"Nice to meet you, Strawberry-sama."

Oh. _Hell. _No.

Before Ichigo could properly punch the laughing driver, he was pulled back and away from him by none other than Yoruichi. Urahara was back on his feet now, and waltzing over to Kiyoshi lazily with the usual grin in place.

"Kiyoshi-chan, we shall be fine for now. Please leave until I request your services again."

Kiyoshi bowed deeply and muttered a 'yes Urahara-sama' before getting into the limo and carefully driving back the way he came through the grass.

A sigh of relief came from Ichigo as his random new enemy disappeared from sight, and the teenager found himself noticing his eyes drooping from lack of sleep.

"Urahara, let's go already. I'm sleepy."

"Yes, yes! Follow me, my young fellow!"

A tree. A normal tree with brown bark and luscious green leaves that fluttered noisily whenever the wind picked up, that's what Ichigo found himself looking at. It was a single tree in the clearing Urahara had previously pointed to, but how was this Las Noches? Whatever Urahara was doing, Ichigo hoped it was good, otherwise he was going to be royally pissed off.

Urahara knocked his knuckles twice on the tree before backing away and gazing at the supposed 'assassin's base' he had proclaimed it was. Nothing happened for a moment, and Ichigo was on the verge of either passing out or getting so irritated he would kill his teacher right here and now.

"Ichigo, watch this." Yoruichi muttered into his ear while keeping her eyes glued to the tree just like Urahara was. So he did what she said and let his gaze fall on the part of the tree Urahara had knocked on, and it lingered there for a excruciatingly long minute or two before something actually started to happen. He blinked in confusion, and by the time his eye had reopened from the blink, there was a hole in the tree with a hidden staircase concealed in the darkness.

Slowly the three made their way down the long spiral staircase, with Urahara leading and Yoruichi on the end. Motion sensor lights came on as Urahara walked past them, watching the stairs carefully in case something were to happen. Ichigo groaned loudly as the stairs seemed to keep going and going. He was practically sleep walking for crying out loud!

After torturous minutes of nothing but the sounds of shoes hitting the metal stairs, a bright light poured into Ichigo's vision and blinded him for a moment. He looked up to see Urahara in the same blinded state, since they were all so use to the dim stair lights they had been following for several minutes now. The stairs ended in a large lobby, with a ceiling so high it made Ichigo dizzy just to look up at it. The room was empty, save the five people standing in the middle of the room. Some were smiling while the others were openly frowning at the newcomers, with hatred blooming towards Ichigo and his friends.

Urahara walked towards the small group of people while Yoruichi and Ichigo followed silently behind without question. The room was white. Very white, with no dust or dirt anywhere to be seen. The ceiling was white with white walls and a matching white tile pattern to match it all.

How _boring._

Ichigo watched as a man stepped forward with a grin similar to Urahara's to shake hands with the blond man when they were in touching distance of the four men standing in the room. It was all really rather weird to Ichigo.

"Sousuke-chan, how nice to see you again!" His voice was oddly chipper considering their situation. Ichigo was more than nervous and uncomfortable, which weren't really normal emotions for the assassin. He was rubbing his hand through his hair, which Urahara claimed was his nervous habit.

_Psssh, stupid old man._

"Kisuke, it's a pleasure to see you again after all these years. We have much to catch up on."

"Yes, I agree!"

"Yoruichi, it's nice to see you again too. You look even more lovely than you did when you were young." Urahara's brown-haired friend commented on the woman beside Ichigo. Well wasn't he the charmer.

"Nice to see you also, Sousuke." She nodded with a smirk.

"And who is this?" Sousuke said while letting his sharp brown eyes graze over Ichigo's form. Ichigo almost gasped when brown eyes locked together. Sousuke's eyes were piercing and Ichigo wanted to cower under his intense gaze. This man sure was something.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." The teenager said, finally gathering his wits.

"I am Aizen Sousuke, the creator of this establishment, and owner." Aizen said with his deep voice. A piece of hair that was dangling in Aizen's face distracted Ichigo momentarily, with his ADD and all, but wasn't really a visible change to the others in the room.

"Let me introduce you all to my dear Espada, my regulars who stay here often and follow my rules diligently." Aizen pointed to a man with flamboyant pink hair and glasses perched upon his nose. He was wearing some sort of uniform, which looked almost exactly the same as all the other people, including Aizen himself.

"Szayel Aporro Granz." Said man nodded and waved his hand in a child-like manner. He had pink hair...? How odd.

He then pointed to a man with his hands tucked into his sleeves and squinted eyes. Ichigo couldn't help but think of a fox as the teenager looked at the man.

"Gin Ichimaru, my subordinate." Gin smirked at Ichigo, and for some reason it caused unpleasant chills to run up his spine. What a creepy guy...

"Kaname Tōsen, my other subordinate." A nod from Kaname.

"And our youngest member who is officially eighteen now." Aizen pointed his finger at the last person standing next to Gin with a scowl on his face. He looked like he really didn't want to be here right now. The man's hair was a teal blue color, which Ichigo was interested in since it was abnormal like his own orange hair and Szayel's pink hair. The man's eyes were the exact same color with small blue tattoos under his eyes. How peculiar.

"Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."

"Yo, berry-head."

* * *

**Ending A/N's: **Yeah boy! Oh i decided to pair Ichi with Grimmjow. Yay? :3

What did you think?

**Random Fact:** I get to go to the carnival of madness tomorrow! It's a concert featuring Shinedown, Chevelle, 10 years, and so on. Kinda excited:)

Review!

**Review!**

**_Review!_**


	3. Smile

A/N:

Hey, what's up? School is almost back in. Only two days left! Haaa imma miss summer D: But anyways, here is chapter three. Its short and its crap.

**Chapter Warnings:** OOC (like always!), mild fighting, horrible writing (I'm sorry im a crappy author!), and thats about it.

**Characters Introduced: **Ulquiorra Cifer (Sp?).

* * *

**Smile:** A facial expression characterized by an upward curving of the corners of the mouth and indicating pleasure, amusement, or derision.

Ichigo and company had been given a grand tour of Las Noches soon after the introductions had ceased. Ichigo had followed Urahara and Yoruichi obediently as they conversed with their old friend, while Ichigo walked silently alone. He felt the need to compliment Aizen though, for the beautiful architecture and overall stability and size of the establishment the man ruled. One would never believe something this large could be hiding in a secret underground area like this. It was probably better hidden than their own base under The Urahara Shoten.

After the tour, Ichigo had been led to his room; which was not next to, but still close to Urahara's and Yoruichi's. The teen had walked in and immediately gotten overly excited. The room was huge, with an oversized bed in the middle resting peacefully on a large circular platform that rose off the ground a couple of inches. Everything was shrouded in white drapes and there were small picture frames hanging in random places with pictures of white items encased. One was a white crayon, another was of a white kitten; one more of a white flower and the last one hanging was holding a picture painted of random white swirls, mixing with red and black swirls until the converged into the middle making a red-ish black color. It was by far Ichigo's favorite.

Urahara walked into Ichigo's room and wolf-whistled while gazing around the white space.

"I think your room is better than mine. How unfair~!" The older man walked over to Ichigo and pouted. He then put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder and leaned on him a bit while still gazing around the room.

"Get off me, perverted old man!" Ichigo warned his teacher as calmly as he could.

"Maa maa Ichigo! My bones are aching from the long walk! Help your teacher out, wont ya?" He whined while bending over acting like his back was in some sort of terrible pain. Ichigo growled and pushed the man away causing the blond to almost trip.

"I said get off, you pervert."

"Name calling isn't nice, my Strawberry!" Another growl from the orange-head teenager. The argued for a minute longer before a few soft knocks were heard at Ichigo's closed door. The two men walked over to answer the door quickly, and came face to face with a teal-eyed man with black hair and a blank expression.

"Aizen-sama would like to invite you to dinner." He announced in a overly lazy monotone voice. How typical.

"Of course! We wouldn't miss is, right Ichigo?" He replied while looking at his student with a large grin, and of course his fan was there as well. Ichigo sighed.

_This was going to be a long two months._

_

* * *

_

The table that Ichigo was currently sitting at was way more extravagant then he had previously thought it would be when Aizen's lackey invited them to dinner. It was so long, Ichigo would probably get winded just walking to the other side of it. Urahara, Yoruichi, and Ichigo had all changed into uniforms provided by Aizen before the dinner. The teen was still fuming about that whole ordeal. Ichigo would have been fine if his uniform had looked somewhat like Urahara's did; white, baggy, with a green obi secured around his waste. It looked just like the ones Aizen's subordinates were currently wearing. Yoruichi was given a white dress that only went down mid-thigh and hung down low in her breast area. They were both wearing uniforms that suited them and looked good on them.

Ichigo wasn't as lucky with his uniform.

It was tight, and stuck to every curve Ichigo's body possessed. The pants kind of reminded the teenager of the pants he wore to clubs, the ones that took almost thirty minutes to squeeze into. Not that he hated pants like that or anything. The shirt was long-sleeved and also form-fitting, and the over-jacket hugging him even tighter. It was more annoying than anything else.

The worst part was the obi that Aizen and Urahara had specifically crafted for him. It was white with little red strawberries decorating the piece of fabric, and was currently tied around his waist just so he wouldn't be rude to Aizen and end up getting kicked out of Las Noches. If that happened he would have no choice but to live with his family, and Ichigo wasn't ready to do that anytime soon.

Ichigo sat at the table next to Urahara and Yoruichi, while Aizen sat at the head of the table on the opposite end. Aizen's hands were folding in front of him on the table and a piece of his hair rested in between brown eyes.

"Kisuke, you wouldn't mind if I had a few more visitors eat with us would you?" The brunette asked.

Urahara shook his head. "Of course not Sousuke. I'm sure we'll all get along, right Ichigo?" Urahara looked at his student with questioning eyes. Ichigo snorted.

"I'm not a child, Urahara."

Yoruichi laughed twirled a piece of her purple hair. "Sometimes you act like one though."

"What the hell!" The orangette said loudly. Urahara laughed along with Yoruichi while Aizen just smiled at the scene before him.

"May I ask you something Kisuke?" Aizen asked when the three had stopped their arguing.

"Of course, dear friend~!"

Aizen's gaze shifted to Ichigo who seemed to be watching the white laced tablecloth intently. The teen looked up when he felt eyes watching him, and his brown eyes met with Aizen's piercing ones. Urahara and Yoruichi watched the small staring contest with curious eyes, waiting to hear Aizen's question that had yet to be asked. The brunette smiled at Ichigo and removed his gaze from the orange-headed teen so he could look at the older blond man next to him.

"Who exactly is this boy, Kisuke?"

"Che.." Ichigo scowled at the mighty ruler before him with the hardest scowl the teenager could muster. Aizen looked back at the boy with a sudden interest, and Urahara fanned himself while laughing nervously.

"Do you believe I am unable to introduce myself, Aizen?" The orangette growled at the man down the table.

"Aizen-sama." Said man corrected the teen before him with a smirk. Getting on Ichigo's nerves was _very_ fun to do Aizen noticed. Very fun indeed. This teenager was proving to be wonderfully interesting.

"Excuse me? Why the fuck should I call you _Aizen-sama_?" Ichigo growled back at the man still smirking at him. Suddenly the man with jet black hair and teal tattoos under his eyes walked into the room gracefully. He bowed deeply before Aizen, at who smiled at the man. Ichigo gaped while watching the new addition in the room. This was Aizen's lackey who had invited them to dinner with his master! No wonder he seemed so respectful to Aizen...

"Please refrain from being so rude to Aizen-sama." Said the monotone voice of Aizen's man.

"Fuck you, lap dog! Why would I listen to anything you say?"

"Ichigo...please contain your anger." Urahara pleaded with his student while reassuringly placing his right hand on Ichigo's shoulder. The teenager didn't seem to hear what his teacher had said, and furiously continued glaring daggers at the two men on the other side of the white room.

"I'll kill you." The teenager warned the other men, who only continued looking smugly at him. His anger just seemed to rise and rise until it was only an inch from its boiling point which was highly dangerous. Ichigo was seething with fury. His raging aura was practically seeping into the still air around him. Ichigo began to grit his teeth and continued to clench and unclench his fists underneath the table. Urahara figure everything would stay in the safe zone as long as nothing too damaging was said to his student, who must have missed his daily dosage of Prozac. Ichigo had been prescribed this medication to help relieve his stress levels and anxiety, and would in the end keep the easily angered teen from becoming too mad. It was a necessity for Ichigo to take it, and when he missed a dose, his anger came out in full force.

"You believe that by some miracle, you will be able to apprehend me? Let alone, murder me? You wouldn't even be able to hurt me, trash." There was no emotion in his words to Ichigo.

Urahara groaned. That was the end of calm Ichigo. This was turning into a bad situation, and they hadn't even been served dinner yet!

"T-trash? I'm trash? I wouldn't be able to hurt you?" Ichigo growled slowly while standing up and pushing his chair back. The teenager was shaking with the urge to kill the man who dared call him trash in front of people. Ichigo would personally show this man, Ogichi wasn't trash. Ogichi was the best at what he did. Urahara was gaping, his jaw wide open and his eyes wide under the shade of his striped hat that had been a birthday present from Ichigo two years ago. Aizen sat still, while watching the brewing fight with increasing interest. Yoruichi was only silent.

Ichigo walked over to the man whose name had not been revealed yet, and glared at him for a moment before reaching into his sleeve to grab a hidden semi-automatic pistol, a special made silencer on the tip; made by Urahara himself. With a steady hand Ichigo pointed the sleek gray weapon towards the black haired man and smirked.

"You should know who you fighting before you challenge them, lackey. What is your name?" Ichigo asked.

"Ulquiorra, and your name trash?" Said man answered while watching Ichigo and the pistol.

Ichigo felt the normal rush of blood and excitement overtake his body when he produced his gun and held it in Ulquiorra's direction. He felt Ogichi's instincts take control and everyone else in to room watched Ichigo's face twist into a large toothy grim.

"Ichigo! Stop it!" Urahara cried out as he saw Ogichi's familiar grin stretch across Ichigo's face. He needed to stop his student, he needed to stop this fight before someone was killed, but Urahara was fearful of Ichigo when he got like this. He didn't really know if Ichigo would harm him or not, and Urahara wasn't willing to take the risk. The blond man was shaking in his seat with his hat casting a shadow over his wide and worried eyes.

Without his smile wavering, Ichigo looked at Ulquiorra and answered.

"You think I cannot harm you? You are nothing but a simple lackey assassin, Ulquiorra. Nothing more, nothing less! You believe I can't kill you?" He asked as calmly as possible. Ulquiorra didn't move or answer the teen.

In a blink of an eye Ichigo had Ulquiorra pinned to the ground with his left foot holding the surprised man down. The specialized gun was pointed directly at Ulquiorra's head, and the black haired lackey had wide eyes and an open mouth like everyone else in the room.

Ichigo licked his lips. His prey was already underneath him, helpless and stunned so he wasn't struggling.

"I'm Ogichi asshole. I'm the best assassin in Japan, so next time hold your tongue when addressing a stranger. It could turn into a _deadly_ situation, ne Ulquiorra?" Ichigo smirked. Without a second thought, Ichigo raised his foot and roughly brought it back down onto Ulquiorra's chest, who coughed when the air was violently knocked out of him. Urahara sighed deeply at Ichigo's natural violent nature, and started to feel compassion for the poor lad laying on the ground. This was about to turn ugly.

Ichigo looked away from Ulquiorra's surprise wracked face when the sound of clapping disrupted the teenager's murderous thoughts. The stunned teen moved his foot off of the raven haired boy and turned around to face the entrance of the dining hall to see a group of people standing there with shocked looks flying towards him.

Ichigo identified the man clapping with pink hair instantly. It was one of the people he had been introduced to when they had first entered Las Noches. What was his name again...?

Aizen smiled and warmly welcomed the new guests to the room. "Were you impressed with Ichigo, Szayel-san?"

Said man smirked and began descending towards the group, and more importantly, Ichigo who had calmed down drastically since the newly found crowd had entered the room.

"He is an interesting specimen indeed, Aizen-sama." Szayel muttered while inspecting the man still laying on the ground next to Ichigo for injuries. Ulquiorra stood up with a new bruise staring to form on his pale chest, and thankfully that was all. Some serious damage could have been dealt if the dinner mates hadn't walking in when they did.

Ichigo huffed in annoyance and walked hurriedly back to his seat next to Urahara and Yoruichi, who were still stunned from Ichigo's random outburst of violence, but when the orange-headed teen got close to his teacher who was openly inspecting Aizen, the teenager felt his appetite disappear.

"I'm not hungry anymore." Ichigo muttered. He was feeling ashamed now, and was sincerely hoping Aizen wasn't planning on kicking them out for his rude behavior that Ichigo had been trying so hard to avoid doing.

"Of course. You may be excused, Ichigo." Aizen announced while smirked at the teenager, who found himself staring at the boring white tile flooring.

"I-I don't really know where- "

"Grimmjow will show you back to your room." Aizen interrupted the sputtering teenager. Ichigo nodded and looked for the familiar blue hair in the crowd of people. He was surprised the teal haired man didn't argue back, Ichigo had pegged Grimmjow to be the arguing type. The other men sat down, and left Grimmjow standing by himself in the middle of the room until Ichigo had finally walked the large distance towards him. Ichigo looked away from Grimmjow when he caught the other man's intense eyes glaring darkly towards him.

After finally leaving the dining room, Grimmjow led Ichigo down one of the hallways that had similar structure, and were easy to mistake for any other different hallway in Las Noches since everything looked the same. Grimmjow said nothing, instead he crossed his arms over his broad chest and kept his teal eyes focused on the area in front of him, which Ichigo found himself thankful for. If Grimmjow said something that would upset the other teenager right now, Ichigo might find himself doing something else he would regret to the man.

Soon the echoing footfalls ended, and Ichigo noticed his door only by the small scuff mark he had accidentally made on the white door. The orangette sighed happily, and watched as the other man moved out of the way to allow Ichigo access to his room. Ichigo blushed lightly for a second before looking up at the taller man through his hair, and giving one of his rare smiles. Grimmjow's eyes widened slightly, and his mouth opened slightly.

"Thank you, Grimmjow." Ichigo said while still smiling. Quickly the teen opened the door,and made his way into his room. After closing the door on the surprised teenager in the hallways, Ichigo let his back meet the cold wood of his door as he leaned on it trying to calm his fluttering heart. He had just smiled at a stranger, while he could not even smile at his own teacher, and friends? Ichigo found himself lying on his stomach with his face pressed into a large white pillow, trying to sort through his once calm thoughts that had now seemed to be chaotic, and flying haphazardly all over the place.

* * *

**Ending A/N's: **I'm sorry if you hate it. And if you happen to be awaiting a chapter update for Fixing Depressed Hearts, well don't. I'm not in the mood. Super sorry.

**Random Fact: **I just started playing Assassin's Creed 1, and i got addicted. Can someone say, inspiration?:)

**Random Fact 2~:** I have to announce i, for some unknown reason, hate the SasuNaru pairing. I have no idea why! Its like the most popular pairing ever! D: whats wrong with me?

And once again i must say,

Review!

**Review!**

**_Review!_**

**_P.S. You know i can see the traffic on this story, and all the alerts so i know you're reading! show some appreciation for my hard work and lost time, and give a short review!_**

**_thankies!_**


	4. Library

A/N:

This is just like a small filler chapter. Ha! It's short, I noticed that, but I figured you needed an update. Here you go!

* * *

**Library**: A place in which literary and artistic materials, such as books, periodicals, newspapers, pamphlets, prints, records, and tapes, are kept for reading, reference, or lending.

Three Days Later

Ichigo found himself walking the hallways, like he normally did after eating dinner these days. The teenager had become bored of the plain white rooms he was so accustomed to, and had taken a liking to walking to the Las Noches library and reading some of the thousands of books concealed there. Oftentimes, Ichigo would lose himself in a rather interesting novel, and look up to see that he had lost the whole night reading.

Ichigo continued along the route he had overly familiarized in his three days at Las Noches. Although the hallways had looked exactly the same as any other hallway, this one was easily recognizable by the teen. Following the same path he did every day, Ichigo took a right turn and noticed the elegant white door that led to the library he was so fond of. The hallways was silent, so Ichigo found himself not wanting to disrupt it as he gently opened the heavy door and closed it behind himself.

Books were everywhere. Thousands of pages of words that contained the knowledge that fueled our brains. Ichigo entered the empty room, and waltzed over to the romance-mystery section. He picked out a book written entirely in French, and at times like these, Ichigo was glad he had taken so many foreign language classes in high school.

Ichigo let his eyes wander across the page at a slower rate than normal, since French wasn't his native language, and the teenager was not perfect with reading French yet. He had only just reached the second page when he heard the quiet library door open and close quickly. He looked up and teal filled his vision.

"Grimmjow? What the hell are you doing here? Can you even read?" He inquired.

Grimmjow snarled and bared his teeth in an animal-like way at the man who was looking up at the intruder with scrutinizing eyes.

"Little fucker! Of course I can read. I came here to see what _you _were doing."

"Stalker?" Ichigo cocked his head to the side mockingly.

"Fuck you! You just keep coming here, and I wanted to know what you found so special about this dusty old place!" He yelled, his rage-filled voice breaking the innocent silence.

Ichigo laughed, which caused Grimmjow's eyes to widen in shock.

"D-Did you just laugh?"

"Yes I did." Ichigo stated proudly. His laugh was a rare thing indeed, Ichigo knew it was a shock to hear it. Grimmjow sure was lucky, first his smile, and now his laugh? This man was something else. It was like he brought out a whole other side to Ichigo, a less violent and more caring side.

Grimmjow swallowed. Ichigo's laugh was like a shock, it pulsed through his body slowly and intimidated the older boy greatly. It was like lightning striking him head on, he felt like falling to the ground suddenly. Ichigo's gaze drifted back to his book for a moment before it quickly flicked back to the other teenager in the room again. His eyes were questioning.

The orangette stared at the teen for a second before pursing his lips. "Are you just going to stand there?"

Grimmjow cleared his throat, and silently sat in the seat across from Ichigo. He didn't want to stay, but for some reason he sat down anyways. "What book are you reading anyways?"

"Un Brillant Avenir. It's in French."

Grimmjow game him a funny look. "Are you serious? You can read French?" Ichigo nodded.

"I always have." Grimmjow hummed, and watching his hands tap impatiently on the table. Now that they had ran out of things to talk about, the air around Ichigo and Grimmjow had become tense. Ichigo scratch the back of his head and scowled lightly.

Grimmjow hated the smell of books, the musky old paper smell. It had always made him sick to his stomach for some reason. He tried not to let it show, but he was feeling disgusted with the strong smell coming at him from all sides. Grimmjow let his head fall onto the table, as he let Ichigo continue reading the strange book quietly. The teal-haired man was bored, and sitting here in the smelly library with a boring teenager was making it much worse.

"Yo, berry-head. I'm leaving. You're way too boring to hang out with." The older teenager stood up slowly and watched as Ichigo's brown eyes lifted from his book to lock with his. Ichigo didn't say anything, he just watched the other man stand up and leave. Footsteps go softer and softer and it wasn't until Grimmjow had almost reached the exit when Ichigo spoke up.

"Thanks for talking with me, Grimmjow." Said man didn't say anything back, and when the door closed behind him, Grimmjow took off into a run. He couldn't wait to be back in his room, and safely away from the strange people like Ichigo. He didn't like things he wasn't used to.

…

Urahara walked down the halls, silently looking for something to entertain himself with. Unlike in the city, the underground hideout he was currently in did not contain anything relatively fun to do. In the restless city, Urahara could just walk on out of his base and into the street, and make his way down to the nearest casino or strip club. They were open at all times, everything was in the city that never sleeps. Those were his favorite things to do, since he was currently lacking a significant other to do other things with.

The blond man gasped as he saw a young man run down the hallway, and zoom right past him without even pausing for a moment or even sparing the older man a glance. Urahara recognized the boy from the other day, Grimmjow was it? The teenager that worked under Sousuke. He would remember that bright blue hair any day, it was almost a vibrant as Ichigo's orange locks. Ah youth and their wonders, Urahara thought as he continued walking down the hallways with a sly smirk adorning his fan-covered face. This was promising to be a very eventful trip indeed.

* * *

Ending A/N's: Woah where did that come from! You guys didn't deserve 4000 words, so you didnt get it. haha!:)

So anyways, grimm-chan and ichi-chan got to talk a little bit. Thats good! bonding is great!

And so this chapter will match the ones before it, i must say...

Review!

**Review!**

_**Review!**_

_**Thankies!**_

_**~Ashley**_


	5. Family

A/N:

Hey, sorry for the double post. This is just an updated version, sorry!

**Chapter Warnings**: OOC, Wandering Emotions, Horrible Writing, and Gay Feelings coming out.

**Characters Introduced**: Mentions of Masaki.

_This piece of work was beta'd by Koi-Pie_

* * *

**Family**: A basic social until consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not.

By the fourth day of being in Las Noches, Ichigo had started to notice how restless he was. Walking down the hallways everyday, lunch, dinner, tea, training, library, sleep. It was all the same, unchanging. He had only been here four days, and already he was missing the wide expanses of sky and the crisp fresh air that he was so accustomed to. Staying inside an underground building was like being a caged animal, and it was intensified for this teenager simply because ever since he was little Ichigo had loved being outdoors.

Ichigo sighed and let his head fall back against the headboard of his large white bed. He wanted to melt into the mattress and sleep, if only so he could find himself another day in, closer to the day he was able to leave and murder his latest victim, Abari Renji, the really expensive man with red hair.

The orange-headed teen absolutely loathed waiting to kill his victims. It was stressful and the 'Ogichi' inside of him was always begging to come out and play. Ichigo swore up and down on some occasions when he heard Ogichi whisper to him, which only made Urahara and Yoruichi give him funny looks and tell him to get some sleep. It was nerve wracking at times, but Ichigo had learned to deal with it; it wasn't really a big problem anyways.

A couple of knocks at his door startled Ichigo out of his thoughts, which were beginning to turn down a dangerous road. The teenager was thankful for the temporary distraction. Ichigo paused, and after taking a deep breath and putting on his best scowl, the teenager opened the door to find a very unexpected visitor standing awkwardly with his hands in his uniform pockets.

"Grimmjow?"

"Hey Berry-head, I'm bored. Let's find something ta do." The slightly older man demanded, acting like Ichigo had no choice of his own. Blue eyes locked with Ichigo's, and Ichigo shifted his gaze away nervously, instead staring at how his black shoes contrasted with the white flooring. His heart was beating faster, just slightly, and the orangette was internally yelling at his body to stop being ridiculous like this.

"I was sitting in my room bored too, so what made you think I actually had something interesting to going on?"

"Tch. I just kinda figured a guy with orange hair was a little interesting. Looks like I'm wrong, huh?" Grimmjow smirked.

"Shut the fuck up." Ichigo growled and tried to slam his door in the more annoying teen's face, but Grimmjow caught it and held the white door in an iron grip.

"Let's sneak out." Grimmjow suggested and Ichigo gaped at him like a fish out of water. Sneaking out was a breach of the code: once assassins came in they couldn't leave until Aizen himself deemed it safe to do so. He didn't want to think about what Aizen would do to Grimmjow and him if they were caught...On the other hand...

"Tomorrow's the day, huh? Don't you want to go see your family just in case something goes wrong?" The small tingling sensation in Ichigo's stomach returned, and he let his gaze fall to the floor once again. His family...They were the only thing Ichigo had left that reminded him he was human, and was innocent at one point in time. His dad, Yuzu, and Karin were the three non-assassin things Ichigo looked forward to, even if he didn't like to show or admit it.

"I might just take you up on that. Are you willing to get in trouble just for me, Grimmjow?"

Grimmjow spun around angrily to hide the small blush that now covered his cheeks and grumbled quietly.

"Fuck you Kurosaki. I just want some fresh air, with or without you."

Ichigo Kurosaki smiled sincerely at the other teen. Grimmjow had his own way of showing compassion, and Ichigo was grateful for it. The younger teenager looked around to see if the coast was clear before facing Grimmjow once again with a serious expression.

"Come on in."

Urahara Kisuke smiled to himself as he walked away from Ichigo's room and back to his. After hearing what the two teenage boys were planning to do, he couldn't help but feel mixed emotions. Ichigo was making new friends, and hopefully he would make more soon. It was a good thing, as Ichigo had never made friends back in the city, he was always doing his assassin work. Friends would surely help Ichigo and his problems, but...

Urahara shook his head and stopped in the middle of the empty hallway. Well, the hallways were always empty when he walked them. Finally noticing his door again, Urahara sighed with relief. He had to hurry and call someone to drive Ichigo and his friend through the city without being caught, and who else to call beside his most loyal and loved driver?

The blond man opened his door and walked into the silent area. He missed home, missed being able to be around the people he cared about all the time. Ishida was putting his life in danger by running his business without any of the three assassins that lived there being present; someone could come in and demand business at any second, and Ishida could get hurt. Urahara worried about him and the others, but he was on an important job and there was nothing to be done about it.

Urahara spotted his small blackberry sitting on a small table in his room next to the bed. The blond man turned on the bright light, and illuminated the room out of its ominous darkness. Urahara picked up the phone and shifted through the contacts until he found the name he was looking for. The ring back tone started up, and the older man pressed the cold phone to his ear.

"_Yes, Urahara-sama?"_

"I need you to do me a big favor."

**"""""""**

"Damn it, Grimmjow! Be quiet!" Ichigo quietly scolded the bluenette who kept accidentally knocking things over, alerting people of their position.

"Shut the hell up strawberry!" He whispered back.

"What kind of assassin makes this much noise? Aren't you supposed to be _good_ at stealth?"

"I _said_ shut the hell up!"

Ichigo laughed on the inside. Grimmjow was so funny to tease, and the younger teen did it quite often to the poor guy. Teasing Grimmjow was fun, just because Ichigo liked seeing the small blush decorate his cheeks. Ichigo smiled every time he saw it, because he found it rather cute to see the teenager acting like a child over something stupid.

"Look, the exit's just a little farther away. Be a little more assassin-like, got it? I don't want us to get caught."

Grimmjow growled and stopped his attempt at snaking around. "Don't you fuckin' _dare_ insult an assassin to his face. You should know better than that!" Grimmjow scowled deeply at Ichigo and the quickly resumed his walking at a more brisk pace, passing a very stunned Ichigo on a turn. Ichigo jogged to keep up with the other man.

"I-" Ichigo began, but the words caught in his throat. He was never very good with apologies, after all.

"I'm sorry for saying that to you." Ichigo whispered, his words so quiet that Grimmjow had to strain to hear him. The words sent a shiver through his body nonetheless. Ichigo, _Ogichi_, the best assassin in Japan was willing to apologize so easily to _him_? He smiled and turned to the berry.

"Come on Ichigo, we're almost there." The orangette smiled shyly and looked at the wall away from the other teen. Grimmjow's attitude was becoming less and less destructive, towards Ichigo in particular. He was cussing much less now, and actually coming to dinner. Of course he sat to the right of Ichigo now when they ate breakfast, lunch, or dinner, having made Yoruichi and Urahara move around to make room for him. Ichigo wasn't bothered by this in the least, and he actually enjoyed it.

Having Grimmjow around made Ichigo feel safe, even though the other assassin wasn't really reliable in the defense department. Ichigo liked having the bluenette near him, it made him feel tingly and happy inside. It was a good feeling, and Ichigo had never felt it before with anyone. He took that as a sign that Grimmjow was special, and something extraordinary was bound to happen to them.

Finally they reached the large winding staircase that led to their freedom. No one was around, and after the two had thoroughly scanned the large hall, they darted quickly to the stairs. Ichigo was filled with the rush of adrenaline, the one thing he was addicted to. The teenager would politely refuse drugs and alcohol, but when it came to a good dose of adrenaline, Ichigo was hooked.

"Yes!" Ichigo pumped his fist in the air, smiling sincerely at the other man who was blushing. Ichigo's smile was so adorable, and every time he did smile it sent shivers down Grimmjow's spine. Ichigo was so...cute, and the older teen was sure if he ever told him that, Ichigo wouldn't hesitate to stab his elegantly crafted dagger through Grimmjow's heart. What a brutal life.

"Come on." Ichigo pulled Grimmjow's uniform sleeve as he made his way up the long winding staircase for the second time in his life. Ichigo remembered how long and torturous the climb down was, and he was not looking forward to the climb up.

"Gah, this staircase kills me every time!" Grimmjow grumbled once the duo were finally only a few stairs away from their freedom. Ichigo wouldn't lie, even an expertly trained assassin like himself became winded on those stairs. It was amazing, really.

Grimmjow pushed open the door slowly, peeking his head out inch by inch to make sure the coast was clear for them to come out. Grimmjow wasn't going to risk them being caught, no matter what.

"Looks clear, let's go." Grimmjow said to the other teen, who nodded and followed him outside onto the dewy grass. It was early in the morning, Ichigo figured around five or six. The dew was still freshly painted on the grass, and the sun had not yet risen; the perfect time for assassins to make their move.

Ichigo gasped when he noticed Tanaka Kiyoshi, Urahara's favorite driver, standing not too far away from the two teens, a red sports car parked right behind him. Ichigo sigh when he noticed how much the car would stick out, but he figured it was better than driving around in the limo all day.

_Wait! Why is Kiyoshi here in the first place...?_

"Strawberry-sama, Urahara-sama requested me as your driver this morning." Kiyoshi straightened the red tie that went along with his usual black suit.

"Urahara did? How did he even know?"

Grimmjow scoffed. "The old fucker is sneaky, I'll give 'em that."

Grimmjow winced when he felt Ichigo weakly punch his arm. The young teen scowled at Grimmjow before glaring at him with burning intensity.

"Don't insult the person who's trying to help us, Grimm!"

Grimm.

_Grimm._

Said man smiled as the precious nickname rolled off the strawberry's tongue, the very strawberry Grimmjow had started to like a lot more than he should.

"This is your ride, so please get in." Kiyoshi suggested. Ichigo gaped at the whole situation. He couldn't believe Urahara would do something like this, especially since his teacher loved following the rules so much. Urahara had always made Ichigo follow the rules, which was why he had become such a rebellious teenager. Grimmjow poked Ichigo with his forefinger, knocking him out of his dream-like state.

"Come on, Ichi." The bluenette said as he started off in the direction of the sleek car. Kiyoshi opened the door for him, and Ichigo gave one more sigh before quickly running after his friend. Ichigo's sneakers squeaked as the two teens entered the car. Grimmjow sat behind the passenger's seat, and Ichigo sat in the spot behind the driver's seat. The car was elegant and spacious, and at times like this, Ichigo wished he knew more about cars.

Grimmjow looked just as pleased, and being in the car was so much better than being in the stuffy limo like usual. Ichigo smiled as he sat back, while Kiyoshi got into the vehicle and started it up. The black-haired butler cleared his throat, and both of the teenagers looked up at him curiously. They were both so stunned by what was happening that Ichigo didn't think he would be able to talk anytime soon.

"Where to, Strawberry-sama?" The butler smirked innocently at Ichigo who was scowling darkly at him. Grimmjow barked out a laugh at the name.

"Yeah, berry-head, where to?" Ichigo reached over and punched Grimmjow- who hardly even felt the weak hit- before pouting cutely and scooting as far away from the offending teen as he could. Kiyoshi stared to drive, and Grimmjow's triumphant smirk fell as he watched Ichigo move away with an expression that was crossed between sadness and hatred. Oh no.

"Ichigo..." Grimmjow found his throat dry and his palms sweaty, but this wasn't exactly new. The young assassin always did this to Grimmjow, messing with his mind and body at the same time. It pissed the bluenette off, almost as much as when he caught himself blushing at the thought of Ichigo. It was past ridiculous, and Grimmjow wasn't really sure why he was like this now.

Everything was new to him; the fast pulse, the nervousness, the blushing. Grimmjow was new to it all, and he wasn't quite sure what to do about it. But right now he did know one thing. He definitely did **_not _**want Ichigo upset about something he himself had said.

"Ichigo, I'm sorry." The orange-headed teen's head shot up at this. Grimmjow had apologized? Angry, hateful, hot-headed Grimmjow had said 'I'm sorry'? What the hell?

"Why are you apologizing, idiot?"

"I didn't mean to upset you, I was way outta line." Grimmjow watched as Kiyoshi's eyes flicked to him before going back to the road. The car had finally made it to an actual road, finally getting off the bumpy forest ground.

"I didn't know it was possible for you to say sorry, Grimm."

"Well it is! Tch."

"Sorry to interrupt, but where would you like the destination to be?" Kiyoshi interjected before the two teens started to argue.

"Oh sorry. We'd like to go to my dad's house, if you don't mind." Ichigo watched out the window as they made their way back through Karakura Town. Again, Ichigo was nervous. Nervousness was a horrible feeling that Ichigo had only recently started to experience. Only two things could make the orangette feel even slightly nervous, the first one being his family. Ichigo had the best family ever, and wouldn't ask them to change even one thing about themselves.

The second reason had started up even more recently then the first; Grimmjow, that sadistic bastard with a huge heart underneath it all. Every time Ichigo saw him, he almost fainted. And, well… Ichigo doesn't faint for just anybody.

Grimmjow was _special _to Ichigo. He had even gotten into the mindset of 'everything Grimm does is cute, hot, or adorable', and it was becoming quite annoying. What kind of assassin needs feelings? It was a waste of his time, but he just couldn't shake them. Grimmjow is... Grimmjow. The object of Ichigo's desire, or so he thought. He couldn't really tell for sure, as Ichigo had never really _liked_ someone in his life before.

Grimmjow looked over to find his companion in deep thought while looking out of the window. He sighed as he let his warm cheek rest on his cold hand, finding himself bored. Ichigo was obviously occupied, so there was nothing for Grimmjow to do except sit and wait.

_How boring_, Grimmjow announced to himself. There was nothing to be done, so the teenager let silence take over. He left Ichigo alone in his mind without interruption, even though Grimmjow so desperately wanted to know what he was thinking about. The road continued as both men surrendered to their wandering thoughts, not knowing that they were both thinking about each other.

* * *

Finally the trio reached Ichigo's old house, the house of his childhood. Isshin had opened the door with an eager smile as the two boys stepped inside, Kiyoshi telling them to call when they were ready to leave. By now it was around nine in the morning, so Yuzu, Karin, and his idiot father had merrily been making breakfast together. Yuzu squealed in delight as her orange-headed brother stepped into the kitchen with a stranger in tow.

"Onii-chan! Welcome back!" Yuzu and Karin ran over and embraced their brother, giggling excitedly about their older brother finally being back. Grimmjow watched their interaction from the sidelines. A family... How weird. Grimmjow had never known anyone in his family, and he didn't want to know them either. Aizen had raised him from his newborn years to now, but the teal-haired assassin would never refer to that man as his father. He refused to, simply because he hated that dictating bastard.

"Who's this?" Karin asked. Yuzu looked at Grimmjow, her eyes taking in every detail. Ichigo cleared his throat which silenced the room, and then pointed to the other man. Isshin had now joined his family in the kitchen, sitting at the table with a serious expression focused on the two teens.

"This is Grimmjow, my friend. Do you mind if he hangs out with us?"

All three of the Kurosaki family members shook their head, indicating that they didn't mind the company. Ichigo gave a small smile, a faint tug at the corner of his mouth, and looked at Grimmjow who was looking really confused.

"What the hell happened in here?" Ichigo asked, finally noticing the large amounts of white power on every inch of the kitchen. Yuzu smiled while Karin glared daggers at their snickering father.

"Dad thought it would be funny to start a flour war. He lost, of course." Yuzu smiled triumphantly at Ichigo who felt pride for his sisters swell in his heart. They were so good at defending themselves against their father these days, it was almost as if they were small versions of Ichigo when he was younger. Ichigo was _more _than proud.

"Stupid bastard deserves it. Good job you two!"

"Onii-chan?" Yuzu asked timidly. Ichigo looked up at the small girl with smiling eyes.

"Yes?"

"Are you and Grimm-chan going to stay for breakfast?"

"Of course we are, Yuzu!" Ichigo gave her a genuine smile, the kind that made Grimmjow almost fall over with lust. In the background you could hear Grimmjow grumble 'Who ya calling Grimm-chan ya brat!', but no one listened to him. The two girls ran to the stove to finish preparing the food, while Grimmjow and Ichigo sat at the table watching Isshin clean up the flour that was everywhere. Everyone was smiling and laughing, even Grimmjow. Ichigo's family was just too hilarious.

"It's ready!" Yuzu announced, placing a plate in front of everyone at the table. Grimmjow choked on his milk as his eyes landed on the piece of food. Ichigo scowled and Isshin swooned over how wonderfully creative his two daughters were. Each persons pancake was nicely decorated with a picture of themselves, made with edible items Karin and Yuzu had found in the kitchen. Ichigo's pancake was scowling, and the orange hair stood out immensely. Grimmjow's face was adorable, he was smirking like he always did. Ichigo was almost sad when Grimmjow had to eat the poor pancake, but he was sure he could get his sisters to make more like this at another time.

After breakfast Ichigo and his family walked into the living room, Grimmjow staying close to Ichigo the whole time. They all sat down on the couches like the first night when Urahara and Yoruichi were here, except this time it wasn't as tense. Ichigo was having a great time. Him, Grimmjow, and his family got along really well.

"So Grimmjow, how did ya meet Ichi here?" Isshin said. Both girls nodded their heads in agreement, also wanting to know the answer. Ichigo and Grimmjow gulped. There was no possible way they could tell the truth here, so once again it was time to lie.

"We used to go to school together." Grimmjow answered, and Ichigo sighed with relief. That was a highly possible answer, saying that Ichigo had never talked about his friends when he went to school in Karakura Town.

"Oh I see." Isshin said back.

"So tell me about yourself, Grimmjow. What about your family?" Ichigo flinched and looked over at his crush who had his eyes hidden in the shadow of his hair. Oh no... Ichigo started to panic, but stopped when Grimmjow actually spoke up.

"I don't have a family."

Bam. Eyes widened, and looked at the handsome teen like he was crazy, but the look in Grimmjow's eyes told them that he was telling the whole truth. Ichigo had already known Grimmjow didn't have a family, and he felt really bad for other teen, but Grimmjow didn't want anyone's pity. He was okay with it, really.

Yuzu stood up from her place beside her father and hesitantly walked towards Grimmjow, whose face was hidden in the shadow of his hair. Yuzu's wide hazel eyes brimmed with tears as she watched Grimmjow intently until he finally looked up at her young face.

"Grimm-chan, you can be in our family. Right guys?" Everyone was shocked at this, but Ichigo found himself proud of his little sister once again. She had grown up, well… a lot better then he himself had. Ichigo watched Grimmjow's eyes widen with surprise at what the young girl suggested, and he looked around at the other smiling family members who seemed to want this as well. Ichigo smiled too, and watched Grimmjow with just as much intensity as everyone else, wishing for nothing else but Grimmjow's happiness.

The teal-haired teen turned his face away from Yuzu, and looked at the front door with a light blush on his cheeks.

"Why would you ask somethin' like that?" He mumbled, only causing Yuzu to smile even more.

"We like you Grimm-chan. Don't we?" Karin sighed and nodded, her scowl matching the one that usually appeared on Ichigo's face.

"Of course we like Grimm-chan! You're like a second son to me already!" Isshin swooned over the idea of having another son, and he ran off screaming to Masaki about how excited he was to have a new wonderful and loving child. Grimmjow couldn't help but love the idea of being in this family. They were so... accepting. Plus it would be better to say 'I have a family' rather than 'I have a father-figure whom I hate dearly'. It was an easy choice, really.

"I'd like you to be in my family just as much, Grimm." Ichigo rested a tan hand on Grimmjow's shoulder, and he smiled reassuringly at his crush.

Everyone was watching Grimmjow now, waiting for an answer. They all wanted him, wanted Grimmjow to be a part of something so important as a family. The older assassin was ecstatic.

"I guess I don't really have a choice, do I?" Grimmjow sighed. Secretly, he didn't care if he had a choice or not, he just had to keep his bad-boy look up so he wouldn't ruin his reputation.

"Nope~!" All three siblings chorused together with shining happy eyes. Grimmjow couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth twitch upwards into a small, content smile as everyone moved closer to him and put their arms around his muscular body. Ichigo let his head rest in Grimmjow's warm neck, inhaling deeply so he could memorize his scent. It wasn't really unique, Grimmjow just smelled like man with a dab of cologne… But it was perfect.

Everything was perfect. At least, right this moment it was. You can never really tell what the future holds for you, especially if you're an assassin. Even more so if you are Ichigo Kurosaki.  
**  
**

* * *

**Ending A/N's**: Woah, here it is all shiny and new~!

**Random Fact**: I just got Assassins Creed II. :)

_Review if you love me! And if you don't love me, review 'cause ya love the story so far!_

_-Ashley:)_


	6. Stairs

A/N:

Sup?

**Chapter Warnings**: Mentions of possible sexual themes, OOC.

**Characters** **Introduced**: None.

* * *

**Stairs**: A flight of steps leading from one storey or level to another, especially indoors.

Ichigo grabbed his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed Kiyoshi's number that the butler had given his before leaving to do whatever butlers did when they weren't needed. The ring-back tone didn't even have time to start up before Kiyoshi answered with his usual voice.

"_Are you ready to leave, Strawberry-sama?"_

Ichigo growled when Grimmjow started to laugh. Seems like he was able to hear it also.

"Yeah we're done. Can you come get us?"

"_Understood. I will be there shorty."_

Ichigo muttered a quick 'thanks' before closing the phone and putting it back into his jeans pocket. For once in his life, Ichigo could say that Grimmjow had been really smart. Not only did Grimmjow know the perfect way to sneak out of Las Noches, but he had also suggested that they both change into different clothing before leaving the base. That way, they wouldn't stick out like sore thumbs, but they stuck out anyways. Really,how can a blue haired guy and an orange haired guy _not_ stick out?

Grimmjow was sitting on the couch with Yuzu sitting in his lap and Karin sitting next to him. They looked so comfortable together, like a real family would. Yuzu and Karin were making jokes, and occasionally getting a laugh out of the newest family member. Ichigo was sure the bluenette was feeling like the world had just ended, because Grimmjow had just been accepted into the best family in all of Japan: The Kurosaki family.

Ichigo glanced at the digital clock on the kitchen counter; 9:47 A.M. He groaned loudly and sat down on the unoccupied side of the couch next to Grimmjow. It was getting closer and closer to noon, and the two assassins really should be getting back to Las Noches before they got into some serious trouble, even if they were having such a good time with **their** family now. Kiyoshi would be getting here soon, and then Ichigo would have to say goodbye, not knowing if he would ever see them again. It was a horrible feeling, and Ichigo's dad seemed to notice the distress on his son's features. The old man walked over to his son, and sat next to him.

"What's wrong, my son?"

"We have to leave soon..." Ichigo announced, and all of the other people in the rooms looked at him like he was crazy, including Grimmjow. He didn't want to leave now, but there was no avoiding it. Aizen would probably kill them when they returned anyways, so they better go ahead and get it over with.

"What the hell?" Grimmjow snarled angrily. It was obvious in his voice that Grimmjow didn't want to leave, not now and not ever. Isshin glared at his new son with intense eyes, and the other man didn't quite understand why he was being glared at just yet.

"No cursing in this household young man." When their father said that Ichigo couldn't help but grin. His dad was so crazy sometimes.

"Why do we have to leave now?" Grimmjow tried again, venturing away from the 'illegal' curse words. Ichigo could only turn his head away, and look out the nearby window. Grimmjow seemed to get the idea, and also started to quiet down also. There was no avoiding it. At that moment, Kiyoshi pulled up next to the door and Ichigo's cellphone rang quietly in his pocket.

"Time to go." Ichigo announced, attracting the sad eyes of everyone in the room. Grimmjow hesitantly stood, pulling his pants up and patting Yuzu gently on the head. It was nerve wracking to watch his family wave to him calling out 'see ya later', but Ichigo figured see ya later was a lot better than say goodbye. Goodbye was just so...permanent.

* * *

The leaves crunched loudly as Ichigo walked through the empty woods, a complaining Grimmjow only feet behind him. Kiyoshi had dropped the two assassins off a few feet away from the Las Noches entrance. The air was starting to cool off now, and summer was starting to feel like a far off memory. Time seemed to be passing by _way_ too quickly for Ichigo's liking.

Their footfalls ceased as the two teens came face to face with the undercover tree. Grimmjow looked around one last time to make sure no one was spying, and when they both saw that the woods were empty, Ichigo knocked on the tree and waited for it to open. This was it, the time he had been trying to avoid thinking about all day. Ichigo could tell Grimmjow was panicing just as much as he was, even though you couldn't really tell he was.

What would happen to them, now that they had broken Aizen's most sacred rule? Ichigo shuddered. Would Aizen finally get fed up with Ichigo's actions and kick him out? Would Urahara get kicked out for helping the two assassins?

"Hey..." Ichigo's voice shook a little. Grimmjow just nodded.

"I'm worried." Ichigo's head fell, and his eyes locked on the forest ground. He felt bad now that all of this was over with. Grimmjow unexpectedly laid his hand softly on the orangette's shoulder in a comforting manor. Ichigo was almost too shocked to move, with Grimmjow's warm hand heating up his own freezing skin. It was the first time they had ever had any physical contact between the two of them, and Ichigo couldn't really describe the feeling. The touch sent small shudders up Ichigo's spine, and his now warm shoulder tingled happily.

Right at that moment, Grimmjow felt the strong need to jump the berry in some way, shape, or form, but the doors to Las Noches opened and it stopped him from doing anything.

"Here we go." Ichigo muttered while letting himself slip in front of the other assassin's body so that he could descend the staircase first. Grimmjow stepped in just as the doors were beginning to close, and secure themselves tightly together.

"Are you excited about tomorrow?" The teal haired man asked in a hushed whisper, his voice almost to the point where it couldn't be heard.

"Stupid ass, I always am." Ichigo rudely replied.

And just like that the neutral air between them became tense.

"Don't act like a dick." Grimmjow hated it when people acted like that.

Turning around quickly, Ichigo lightly flicked Grimmjow's forehead which caused the other man to growl threateningly.

"I ain't a dick, bastard." Grimmjow stopped when Ichigo said this, reached down, and flicked Ichigo's cute little nose, which only caused the berry to flinch and cover the small 'ouchie' with his hand.

"I'm not a bastard, you damn pain in the ass." Ichigo moved to flick some part of Grimmjow's body, but was intercepted by a large hand that caught him. Grimmjow pushed Ichigo's lithe body against the dimly lit stairwell wall, loving the feeling of have the young man submissive under **his** own touch. Grimmjow always was into bondage, after all.

Ichigo attempted to break free from Grimmjow's hold, but right now he just wasn't strong enough. An assassin couldn't depend on brute strength, the instead relied on the technique of stealth. Ichigo's face was pressed harshly into the wall, but a smirk still crossed his face as an idea came into his mind.

"I'm not a 'damn pain in the ass', Grimmjow." As if on cue, Ichigo moved his legs around at the perfect angle, and kicked Grimmjow in the back of the kneecaps. The teal-haired man groaned in pain as he involuntarily tumbled to the ground, his body rolling down a few steps before he stopped himself.

"You little bitch, that hurt!"

"It was supposed to hurt." Ichigo crouched down in front of Grimmjow, who was now sitting horizontally on one of the steps with his back pressed up against the stone wall. Grimmjow blushed when he noticed the position they were in, Grimmjow sitting there with Ichigo only an inch or two away from fully straddling him. Ichigo's lean legs were balancing his body so that he could hover over Grimmjow's lap and inspect his wounds. Grimmjow gulped hard, and let his eyes roam over Ichigo's smaller body.

"Berry..." Grimmjow warned the younger teen as Ichigo lifted Grimmjow's head with his forefinger, and inspected the small cuts now littering his face. There were more cuts and bruises than Ichigo thought there would have been, adjourning Grimmjow's attractive face, and it kind of upset him.

The stairwell was silent for a moment as the two assassins let their eyes connect, Ichigo's brown eyes searching, and Grimmjow's unique teal eyes still wide with surprise.

The spit in Grimmjow's throat finally decided to go down, but it was rather difficult since his throat was still so dry.

"This is really awkward."

Grimmjow laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I wasn't really expecting this to happen. Not that I mind you being on top of me or anything, Berry."

Ichigo laughed and sat back all the way so that his butt was pressed into Grimmjow's lap, and the older assassin blushed deeply and let his mouth fall open.

"W-why the hell are ya sittin' on me?" Grimmjow growled, trying to cover up the fact that he was loving every minute of this.

Ichigo blinked and cocked his head to the side to show that other man that he was confused.

"Am I not allowed to sit on you?"

"I'd rather you not."

"Why?"

"'Cause I said so!"

"But..."

Grimmjow's anger was now brimming at a dangerous level, and if he didn't calm down soon, he would most certainly do something he would regret. Grimmjow's eye twitched in annoyance.

"Stop asking so many damn questions."

Grimmjow turned his head away, and chose to stare at the other steps below them. Ichigo smiled as he noticed the light dusting of a blush on the other man's cheeks.

"Hey Grimm..." The bluenette's mind almost turned to mush as he heard his sweet nickname spill from the Berry's lips.

"Yah?" Grimmjow's expression didn't waver as he moved so he could face ichigo once again.

_Why am I so nervous? _ Grimmjow's mind was working in overdrive now.

All of this was just too weird, it was almost like Ichigo had this all planned out. The younger teen started to pout cutely, sticking his bottom lip out and widening his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that."

Still the pout continued.

"Ichigo, stop!" Grimmjow's heart was racing, he could practically feel his blood pumping furiously though his veins.

"Ichigo! You're being too adorable...this is going to end badly if you don't stop _right now_." Grimmjow gasped at he watched a wicked smirk cross Ichigo's face. Oh no! What had he just done! That was so stupid, he had just admitted to thinking Ichigo was adorable! Admitted! He had to fix this, and fast.

"U-Uhm...Ichi-"

"You think I'm adorable?"

Grimmjow sputtered. Everything could have been all good and dandy if he had just **kept his big mouth shut**! Now whatever friendship the two assassins had, was over. Crashed, burned, and now tumbling down a cliff into a fuckin' deep ass lake. Grimmjow was dissapointed in himself.

Ichigo leaned forward, and put his lips next to the older man's ear causing Grimmjow's face to flare up with a blush once again.

"I don't think you're adorable Grimmjow. I think you're fuckin' hot as hell." The orange-headed teen whispered as huskily and as sexily as he could. Grimmjow shivered from his toes all the way up to the tip of his head, and almost released a pent up groan. Almost.

"Shit."

* * *

**Ending A/N's**:

None really. Sorry it's short. Its got deux parts. Oh, and i really hate this chapter. like super bad.

**Random Fact**: Eh, I really hated working.

Well anyways, thanks for reading. I would appreiciate it greatly if you dropped a review while you were here.

Deuces up,

_Ashley._


	7. Kiss

A/N:

Hey, how are you guys? Sorry it's been so long, school, work, and I'm a beta now. Check out Caitie, she's pretty beast. I currently beta Strawberrys and Vampires. Ha!

fanfiction. net/s/ 6309913/1/ Strawberries_and_Vampires (take out the spaces! or just look up CrystalMoon23.)

and im real sorry for those of you who wanted sex on the stairs. i just couldn't fit it in here without messing up my plot, which i have already mostly planned out. sorry!:)

**Chapter Warnings**: BoyxBoy officially, my horrible writing (like usual), and of course, out-of-character-ness.

**Characters Introduced**: None again.

* * *

**Kiss**: To touch or caress with the lips as an expression of affection, greeting, respect, or amorousness.

"Shit."

Grimmjow groaned as Ichigo's voice whispered into his ears. It was like listening to one of the sirens from Greek Mythology: fuckin' great voices, but it lead to sailors' downfall. Maybe he should have analyzed that a bit more, but right at the moment he was too occupied with _Ichigo; _his own personal siren.

Ichigo reached up to caress Grimmjow's teal hair, his fingers running over the jelled locks.

"You're hair isn't naturally spiky, huh?" Ichigo's voice was still low and filled with lust, but right now it seemed like the orangette was trying to soak up every fact about this exact moment in time. This of course included what Grimmjow's hair felt like, and now he knew.

"O-Of course not, dipshit! How the hell would my hair be naturally gorgeous like this without any help?"

Ichigo scoffed. "Don't be so stuck up about it."

As Ichigo's hand continued to twirl around Grimmjow's hair, Grimmjow himself started to get worked up even more. He absolutely _loved_ it when people messed with his hair, even though he often denied it to anyone. It was a secret fetish Grimmjow was very sneaky about.

"Ichi..." The older assassin murmured as Ichigo's delicate finger wove in between strands of hair, pausing to massage his scalp every now and then. Grimmjow held in a groan, and he sealed his lips tightly together to keep all of his approving sounds inside.

"Do you like this?" Ichigo let his finger go lower and rest upon Grimmjow's ear. His pointer started to trace the shell of his ear, stopping slightly at the top before scaling downwards again slowly. His finger then landed on Grimmjow's top lip, and it traced along the seam between his lips. Grimmjow's lips were practically tingling now with the touches Ichigo was giving him.

Ichigo's lips were almost on his now; the distance being only the width away of a hair from touching. Why was all of this happening so fast? Only moments the two were fighting, and now they were scary close to kissing.

_Kissing._ Sure Ichigo had kissed guys before, and he'd even kissed a girl or two also, but never had Ichigo wanted to kiss someone as bad as he did right now. Most of his relationships had only lasted for a month or so, the longest relationship he recalled having was with Orihime, the busy chick that lived next to the school he had went to for a while. They had dated for three months, and then Ichigo ended it when his assassin duties started to kick off.

Yeah, they had even had sex, so Ichigo was by no means a blushing virgin. In fact, he was quite the opposite.

"I wanna eat. You. Up." He flicked his tongue out to trace along the edges of Grimmjow's lips. Involuntarily, Grimmjow's lips parted in a silent gasp, and a shiver crept up his spine giving Grimmjow goose bumps.

"What-" Grimmjow started, but his breath caught when the orangette pressed his lips softly against his own. Grimmjow had expected Ichigo to kiss him roughly, but this kiss was so innocent that it made Grimmjow feel like a school-girl getting their first kiss in the middle of a hallways or some shit like that. Ichigo pulled away slowly and reopened his eyes to look into Grimmjow's own teal orbs which were half-lidded and dazed.

"I'm sorry, I really don't kno-" Grimmjow grabbed the stuttering Ichigo's head gently, and quickly crushed his mouth back onto the younger teen's soft lips. Ichigo grunted in surprise as his lips were suddenly reattached once again to Grimmjow's. Wet, sloppy sounds echoed through the spiraling staircase as the kiss became more heated and their mouths opened to get a better taste of each other.

Ichigo tore his mouth away from Grimmjow's when he felt the need for air come back, although he was considering to just keep going and pass out. He would have rather kept kissing Grimmjow and pass out, then to stop and maybe never kiss the other teen again.

Ichigo frowned as he panted, and Grimmjow just smirked at him. His breathing _was_ normal, after all, so that only meant that he himself had greater stamina than Ichigo.

"Bastard." Ichigo scoffed at the cocky looking man in front of him. Grimmjow smirked down at him.

"Again?" Grimmjow asked casually. Ichigo laughed which cause Grimmjow's face to flush slightly. Ichigo was having fun seeing the seemingly tough man blush so easily.

"Of course."

* * *

Urahara was currently in a really awkward and potentially terrifying situation. He was sitting at the long table with Sousuke sitting on the opposite end like usual. Urahara smiled at his dear friend and waved his hands around in the air.

"Maa maa, I'm sure Ichi-chan and Grimm-chan will be back soon!"

The brunette scowled at his friend. "They shouldn't have left in the first place."

"Well," Urahara began with a dramatic wave of his left hand, "You never know with teens these days! I mean we can't really-"

"Kisuke." Sousuke cut the anxious blond man off with a bitter tone. The two older assassins held each others' gaze for a few minutes, while the air around Urahara shifted uncomfortably.

"Did you help them escape?" Sousuke's eyes were practically on fire now, burning with his deep hatred for his friend at the moment.

"Well, you see-" Urahara wished Yoru-chan was here to help him with this. All of the tense air was no good for his health,no good at all.

"Tell me the truth!" The brunette growled causing Urahara to flinch slightly. Urahara decided to hide behind the gray fan he had pulled out, and to shield himself from Aizen's gaze sent directly towards him.

"Urahara Kisuke, I will find a way to make your life _miserable_ if you do not answer my questions."

Urahara sighed in defeat. "Well, you see..."

* * *

Ichigo groaned as Grimmjow thrust his tongue into his warm mouth, tracing over every inch inside the younger assassin's mouth. Ichigo wound his fingers into Grimmjow's cyan hair and pulled at the ends harshly. Grimmjow grunted at the harsh treatment, but his 'face-sucking' did not even falter.

"Grimm!" Ichigo panted as he tore his mouth away from said bluenette's mouth once again. Grimmjow just never seemed to learn that he couldn't hold his breath that long!

"Jesus, let me breathe some." Ichigo took long gulps of air and tried to regulate his breathing while Grimmjow watched intently. Grimmjow laughed as Ichigo attempted to scowl at him, his face scrunching up in mock anger.

"Hey, come on, don't look at me like that." Ichigo pursed his lips at Grimmjow's statement.

Grimmjow let his hand travel back into Ichigo's hair and massage gently. He smirked as the scowl fell from Ichigo's face and it twisted into a look of pleasure instead. He leaned against Grimmjow lighly and felt his eyes slip closed.

"I love it when people play with my hair..."

"Hey now, don't fall asleep on me. I wanna make out more." Ichigo's eyes opened at this.

"You're a pig." He muttered, but made no attempt to move, so Grimmjow just smiled lovingly down at the kid.

"You're really cute Ichi." Ichigo stuck out his tongue childishly, and smirked when Grimmjow's brows furrowed in confusion. Ichigo crawled forward and sat down in Grimmjow's lap, his back pressing into Grimmjow's firm chest. He snuggled closer, and let out a deep, content sigh when Grimmjow wrapped his arms around Ichigo's stomach.

"You're really cute too..." The orange headed teen whispered, but since the stairwell was so quiet Grimmjow heard it clear as day and smiled.

"Hey Grimm?" Ichigo whispered into the space before him. Grimmjow let his chin rest on top of the smaller man's head, and he took a deep breath to get a good whiff of Ichigo's natural scent. He smelled sort of like sweat, but that was natural and Grimmjow didn't mind that one bit. He actually loved it.

"Yeah?" Grimmjow whispered back, trying not to break the silence around them.

"I..u-uhm...I really like you." Ichigo's face lit up so bright he practically lit the stairwell up by himself. Grimmjow stifled a laugh because he figured it would hurt Ichigo's pride, and instead he just gave Ichigo a small peck on the top of his head.

"Fuck, I really like you too Berry-head."

* * *

"I can't believe this is happening." Aizen Sousuke glared daggers at his blond friend now cowering across from him at the table. Now that the sneaky man had spilled all the tasty details about letting the two teens go outside without permission, Aizen had a bad taste in his mouth. This whole situation was just fucked up, to say the least. Now, Aizen was going to be 'forced' to do something he really _didn't_ want to do. The two teens deserved punishment for disobeying the rules, hard punishment.

He stood up causing his chair to squeak against the hard flooring. Urahara watched his movements, trying to figure out what his friend was planning now. Urahara felt really bad about spilling his plan to Aizen, but he figured that this punishment would be less severe than if he wouldn't have said anything.

Aizen walked towards the large double doors that led into the hallways. He let his feet carry him swiftly, he did, after all, have some very important business to attend to. Urahara watched as Aizen smirked at him before disappearing out the doors and shutting them behind him. The blond let out a long sigh as he ran a shaky hand through his hair. This was bad.

"What have I gotten us into...?"

* * *

After the cuddling phase had worn off, Ichigo and Grimmjow had taken to kissing one another once again. Ichigo was straddling the bluenette's lap, who was still sitting with his back pressed into the wall. Ichigo nibbled on Grimmjow's bottom lip and lifted his eyes to watch Grimmjow's reaction. He smiled when the other man groaned slightly and let Ichigo abuse his lips without a second thought.

Everything was sill for a few moments as Ichigo and Grimmjow shared another innocent kiss, one that didn't venture past closed lips. These kisses were affection filled, and Ichigo loved the cute little school-girl kisses like this. After that last kiss ended, Ichigo stood up. Grimmjow stood at the same time luckily, and caught the dizzy teen who had almost fallen.

"Careful there Ichi." He said as he righted the younger boy on his feet so he wouldn't fall again.

"Sorry, I got dizzy. I hate when that happens." Ichigo groaned in frustration as they began to descend the stairs, this time standing next to each other instead of in a line. Grimmjow reached over and interlocked his fingers with Ichigo's own, and smiled as Ichigo blushed and squeezed Grimmjow's hand in encouragement.

"We're gonna be in some deep shit, I tell ya." Grimmjow complained. The thought of Aizen catching them was terrifying, and now that Ichigo was remembering this as well, he began to shudder in fear.

"Shh, it's okay. We'll handle this together, right?" Grimmjow looked at Ichigo's worried face as he tried to reassure his friend, boyfriend, accomplice, whatever the hall they were now. Ichigo looked up at Grimmjow and smiled one of his breathtaking smiles.

"Yeah I know. I'm sure you'd save me if anything were to happen to me anyways, wouldn't you Grimm?"

Grimmjow laughed deeply, the sound causing Ichigo to shiver in delight instead of worry. "I wouldn't let Aizen touch you with a ten-foot pole if I thought he was going to hurt you."

Aw, how sweet. Ichigo smiled and squeezed Grimm's hand once again to show his appreciation. The light of the main room was visible on the staircase now, and the white walls looked unwelcoming to the two young assassins. This was going to be _horrible_ if Aizen was standing down there. Horrible I say.

"I wouldn't let anything happen to you either. I'd go attack a million police officers to save you." Ichigo announced and he watched as Grimmjow's eyes lit up.

He sighed happily as they made it into the main room and noticed that no one was there waiting for them.

"It's gonna be super easy falling in love with you Ichigo." Grimmjow said as he walked away quickly, leaving a stunned and ecstatic orange head behind. Oh, but not for long though. Grimmjow could never leave his sweet strawberry alone now that they were together, well sort of. They'd just have to figure that one out in the morning.

* * *

Ending A/N's: Wow, I'm super tired. It is 4:30 am, after all. Oh well. Sorry the chapter is so short, i really wanted to cut it off there and i couldn't think of anything to squeeze in there and make it longer, my fault! Grimm is super sweet, i think. i wish i had a boyfriend that acted like that! :( hmph. oh well, no need to be sad i guess.

-_Ashley_


	8. Eskimo Kiss

A/N:

Sorry, i am sure you wanted the assassination for this chapter; that was the original plan. plans don't always go through though, and this one didn't. ha it's still something. i hope this chapter makes you go: d'awhhhh!:) i did.

**Chapter Warnings**: Humm, cuteness? guy-guy love:)

**Characters Introduced**: Ha none.

* * *

**Eskimo Kiss**: The rubbing of two noses together.

Breathe,

Just...

Breathe.

The night was seemingly perfect, with a slight chill in the wind and the moon shining brightly above everything. The clouds seemed to have dissipated away, leaving the sky clear and Ichigo's night a whole lot easier. The moon was always something that helped Ichigo sneak about, it lit the pathways and rooftops without any residents noticing anything out of the ordinary. That was, of course, a good thing-a great thing if you wish.

Tonight was the night everything was being risked. Aizen hadn't caught Grimmjow and him during their scandalous actions, and if he had found out he hadn't uttered a word about it, so Ichigo felt that tonight would be fine. everything was going to go according to plan. No worries.

_None_. Right?

He paced back and forth throughout his white room, pondering the simple things in life. like a toaster. People take it for granted, but maybe some people would die without one, literally that is. He liked to think about things he never really noticed, and things that deserved to be noticed, like the toaster. It was the usual routine for him, really. Urahara sat on Ichigo's large bed, picking the small feathers out of the pillow so he wouldn't be sitting still. He also had a restless problem like Ichigo, it was quite common for assassins to have. Urahara was sure Yoruichi was doing the same thing even though she wasn't anywhere close to them.

"Where's Yoruichi?" Ichigo started to bite his nails, then realized what he was doing and quickly tugged his hand away. Well speak of the devil...

"She's in the hall trying to keep people out of your room." Ichigo paused in his walking to stare at his mentor. What in the world was this crazy old man talking about?

"What?"

Urahara sat up straight and fixed his white uniform. "Yeah, there's some people who've been trying to get into your room. I told her to keep them out until you were ready."

Now that Ichigo thought about it, he could remember hearing people talking outside of his door. He just hadn't been in the mindset to think that they were trying to visit him.

"Is Grimm-I mean, is Grimmjow out there?" Damn it, now Urahara was smirking at him.

"You're blushing. You guys got something going on?" Urahara wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Uh..."

"Don't worry, I know. I won't tell anybody, I swear!" Urahara grinned as Ichigo gaped at him like a fish out of water.

"Wh-what? You know what e-exactly?" Urahara just smiled and pulled out his sleek blackberry like the conversation hadn't even happened between them. After punching in what seemed like a text, Ichigo's door swung open suddenly and a blue-haired blur flew past him and landed on the floor with a thud. Urahara smiled like an idiot as he watched everything start to transpire. The door slammed loudly behind the man, and Yoruichi pushed the assassins outside and away from the door as best as she could. It wasn't easy though, because they were all trying to see Ichigo one last time before departure.

Ichigo looked down and saw Grimmjow, _his_ Grimmjow, looking up at him with wide blue eyes.

_Why oh why are your eyes so blue? I could be lost in them forever..._

"Ichi?" Urahara's eyebrows lifted in surprise at this, and Ichigo blushed again. Grimmjow turned to see who Ichigo was looking at, and when he noticed Urahara sitting on Ichigo's bed he coughed to cover his embarrassment.

"I mean, Ichigo?" Urahara stood with a large grin on his face and made his way over to the two helpless assassins.

"You've got about twenty minutes until we head out. Make it count." He walked over to the door with caution, opened it with help from Yoruichi, and then the door was closed and the two young assassins were alone.

!

"Hey Grimm." Ichigo mumbled as he walked over to the man sitting comfortably on the carpet. Ichigo held his hand out and helped the bluenette up off the ground, and he smiled when the larger teen pulled him into a warm embrace.

"Ichi...how are you? Are you doing okay?" Nimble fingers danced in Ichigo's orange spikes, massaging the way Ichigo liked it. A groan escaped Ichigo, but he didn't really care about it right now.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nervous, ya know?" Grimmjow nodded, his head rubbing against Ichigo's since it was cradled on the area where Ichigo's neck and shoulder met together. His arms tightened around Ichigo's midsection, and he pulled the younger body closer to his own.

"You better be safe." Grimmjow growled into Ichigo's ear as he rubbed his nose along Ichigo's neck.

"I do try. Can't promise anything." Ichigo almost stumbled backwards when he was suddenly released from Grimmjow's tender grip. Grimmjow let his hair fall in front of his eyes to hide his face from Ichigo's watching gaze.

"What?" He looked into Grimmjow's eyes, noticing how sad they looked.

"Don't you dare say stuff like that. I wish I could come with you..." Grimmjow pulled Ichigo back into a hug, and Ichigo smiled as Grimmjow continued to show his unusual sweet side.

"When did we become some sort of lovey-dovey couple thing like this?" Ichigo laughed. It was nice and all, but it just happened to have come out of nowhere. There was no way that one make-out on a staircase could possibly make Grimmjow act like a total girl.

Grimmjow laughed heartily, making Ichigo shiver with excitement and bliss. "I could be one of those abusive boyfriends if ya want." Ichigo blinked. It was a real awkward silence, so obviously a gay baby was born somewhere. Poor kid.

"Boyfriend?" Ichigo questioned as he let his index and middle finger walk up Grimmjow's large biceps.

"Uhm..." Grimmjow blushed.

"Do you want to be...boyfriends?" Ichigo bit his lip gently. He really wanted this too, and when Grimmjow had brought it up he just couldn't miss his chance.

"W-well, I'd really like us to be..." Grimmjow muttered while still looking away from Ichigo's face. This was just so...weird of him to ask. He wasn't usually this fuckin' girly, but something about his orange-headed companion made him act like this.

Ichigo smiled and leaned up to kiss Grimmjow as softly as possible on his lips, his closed lips not going any farther than a long-lasting peck upon soft Grimmjow's own. The bluenette placed his hands on Ichigo's upper back, and drew small reassuring circles there. Ichigo almost moaned at the feelings, but he held it in and moved away from Grimmjow.

"I really want us to be too." Ichigo beamed, which in turn caused his new boyfriend to smile largely at him as well. Ichigo held Grimmjow's hand as they walked over to his bed and sat down on the edge. Their fingers remained interlocked, their eyes doing the same. They just sat and admired each other, taking in each detail of the other before their twenty minutes were up and Ichigo was sent on his long-awaited mission. Words weren't really needed here, so a few minutes passed and they stayed in the same position.

Finally Grimmjow spoke up. "I really like you." He admitted while tugging on Ichigo's hand to urge him to sit on his lap. Ichigo complied happily, and effortlessly slid into his boyfriend's lap and snuggled into Grimmjow's inviting heat.

Ichigo laughed as he rubbed his nose on Grimmjow's, and Grimmjow smiled at the overly cute act. "I really, really like you too."

How much more cliché could this moment be? Someone could have taken a picture and stapled it into a Hallmark card, and they more than likely would have made millions off of it. How many relationships are like this? Ichigo was counting his stars, he was more than lucky as it was. Life was really perfect for him right now. Grimmjow just made everything even more perfect.

"You wanna know somethin'?" Ichigo mumbled against Grimmjow's warm cheek.

"Hm?" He replied quietly, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere they had created in the room. It was warm and fuzzy, and Szayel would have gagged if he came in, which he most likely wont be doing. Hopefully he wouldn't be walking in at any time, that would be just...weird.

"I really like," Ichigo closed his eyes and caressed his nose against Grimmjow's, "Eskimo kisses."

This of course caused Grimmjow to laugh, and like dominoes, Ichigo began to giggle a little bit too.

"You, young sir, are the most random person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting." The bluenette smiled at Ichigo who almost started to tear up at that statement.

"You sure know how to charm the ladies, huh?"

Grimmjow snorted and rolled his eyes. "Obviously I'm a real ladies man; obviously."

"No need for the sarcasm, ya dork." Ichigo smiled and buried his head deeper into Grimmjow's shoulder. His arms wound around the larger man's form as he continued to straddle his lap, in a completely non-sexual way that is. Grimmjow's hands were also interlocked behind Ichigo's back as he pulled the small body closer, even though moving closer should have not been even remotely possible.

"But I'm your dork." Grimmjow said smugly.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Well," Grimmjow stopped to ponder a moment, "If I'm your dork, what are you going to be to me?"

Ichigo laughed and sat back so that his chest wasn't pressed so tightly against his boyfriend. He closed one of his eyes, scrunched up his face, and let his one open eye travel to the ceiling and pause there.

"Who knows?" Ichigo shrugged and opened his eye once again. Grimmjow pursed his lips. Surely there was something that Ichigo could be called.

"Ah oh well. You'll just be my strawberry like you usually are."

Ichigo groaned. "I should have seen that one coming."

"Oh yes, you should have, but you didn't."

The orange-head pouted at his boyfriend and tried to move away farther from Grimmjow's body, but strong arms gently wound around him once again and secured his body to Grimmjow's own like it had been moments before. Grimmjow smiled, although no one could see it, and placed a light, feathery kiss on Ichigo's tender neck. He could almost feel Ichigo's warm pulse beating quickly beneath the skin, and he was glad that Ichigo got this way around him.

"Stupid dork." Ichigo murmured so lightly that Grimmjow almost didn't hear the words escape Ichigo's lips.

"Stupid Strawberry." He grumbled right back. The two held each other tightly, practically squeezing the worry and anxiousness out of one another. This is what real lovers did, and well, Ichigo wanted this to be real, so he just squeezed back harder. Grimmjow was like his new rock, the solid foundation in which he was holding onto. Grimmjow just made life more...livable. It was fantastic.

"We sound like lovestruck school girls." Ichigo stated and before he could even recognize what had been said Grimmjow began laughing. Not too loud, cause it wasn't that funny, but he was laughing. Ichigo smiled at this and watched as a tear fell from Grimmjow's eyes from laughing so intensely.

"You're right. We're fuckin' girls."

"At least we're happy fuckin' girls." Ichigo laid his cheek against Grimmjow's, whose was way warmer than his was. Ichigo concentrated on trying to absord Grimmjow's heat into his own body.

"Well actually, I'm pretty happy fuckin' guys, but I get what you're sayin'." Grimmjow smiled at his own joke.

"Smart ass."

* * *

Ending A/N:

Nothing really. Im fuckin' tired.

_-Ashley_


	9. Death

A/N:

WOAH. It's been _forever_, hasn't it? I've recently gotten attracted to writing once again, so i wont be taking so long anymore :)

Chapter Warnings: Bloodshed.

Characters Introduced: Abarai Renji, random security guards.

* * *

**Death**: The act of dying; termination of life.

The side of the Seireitei Plastic Cooperation building was tall and ominous in the glow of the moonlight. A few of the floors still had their lights going, but the majority of the building had already shut down and left for home. Ichigo rubbed his hands together, trying to create some warmth on his freezing body parts

His mask was in place, and Ichigo pulled the hood of his white cape over his head to hide his orange hair. Everything was ready, and the time-clock started now that he was mentally prepared.

Ichigo had roughly twenty minutes to enter the building and take the target out before security did another scan of all the floors. He had to be in and out before that happened, or else he risked his identity _and_ his life. Ichigo took a deep breath, and for a moment he thought of blue. Blue was a calming color, and person, so Ichigo's nerves became steel as he latched onto the side of the skyscraper and started to scale it.

Silence was key, so as Ichigo felt his hand slip on one of the window sills he was grabbing, he stayed quiet. Even if he fell to his death, there was no way he could make a sound, not even a peep. Ichigo quickly steadied himself, and with a shuddering breath he hoisted himself up to another window.

Urahara and Yoruichi were hiding somewhere on the ground, waiting for Ichigo to finish his job quickly. They were there in case something were to go wrong, but that rarely ever happened.

"Ogihci, what's your location?" Urahara spoke into the wireless device attached firmly to his right ear. Ichigo wore one as well so he could communicate with his teacher during the missions.

"I'm still scaling the wall, old man. I know I'm quick, but don't expect me to climb eighty floors in a few minutes."

Urahara chuckled quietly and Yoruichi have him a skeptical look. She couldn't hear what they were talking about, and she didn't know if she wanted to know.

"You're a real brat, you know that? Never mind, forget it, just concentrate on climbing safely." Urahara glanced out of the darkened front window of the black and red Bugatti Veyron he had only just recently purchased. So far, it was most _definitely_ his favorite car.

"Where is he?" Yoruichi also peeked out the window, hoping to see the white cape somewhere along the building, but the darkness was too great, and it swallowed Ichigo whole.

"He said he's still climbing." Urahara snickered. "He even had the audacity to call me an old man."

The dark-skinned woman sighed and twirled a lock of hair with her newly manicured fingernail. They were a deep purple color, it looked rather good on her actually. She had figured red would look nice, but this purple color was almost mesmerizing. Maybe she would be getting that color from now on...

"Ogihci, how are you holding up?" Urahara spoke hesitantly. He was getting antsy from waiting, and he just wanted this job to be over with. One million in the bank, woohoo, but come on, let's get this over with please.

Ichigo's breathy chuckle echoed in the mic, and Urahara bit his lip at the sound. The teenager's laugh was always...dangerous, sexy, intimidating, wonderful, and it made his heart clench on occasion. Of course this wasn't acceptable in the least. Ichigo was teenager, he was, well, middle-aged. Plus it seemed as though Ichigo had made a new 'friend' whom would be the object of Ichigo's fantasies now. Urahara smiled at his thoughts, he only thought of this stuff every now and then, so there was nothing to worry about. His mind was his own, and no one would know what is constantly passing through it.

"Alright Ogihci, let's get this over with already. I'm hungry, and I think Aizen's havin' roast tonight."

* * *

Finally, after seventy-nine torturous floors, Ichigo finally reached his destination. The lights in the window were still burning brightly, and Ichigo grunted as he opened the unlocked window and hoisted himself in. He looked around for a moment, trying to see if anyone was present in the room, but the coast seemed clear so he let his feet touch the tile floor and turned to close the window behind him. The office room was chilly, even with all the gear upon Ichigo's small body.

Ichigo scanned the roof of the room for cameras, but it seemed as though the security cameras were mainly in the hallways, so he got out his devices and eased his way towards the exit of the room. The first main goal was to take out the cameras, because they were the enemy. Not the main enemy maybe, but they were dangerous to the whole operation.

Ichigo secured the small device created by Urahara in his hand and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. The gun was one of Ichigo's favorite mechanisms, since it was just so convenient. Just point it at the camera, pull the trigger, and then the whole camera would malfunction and go haywire. A camera on the fritz would certainly not be able to record Ichigo's coming and going, _would_ they?

Ichigo quickly ran into the hallways, and shot off four beams to the four visible cameras around him. They shook a little, and then the death of the expensive equipment came in a silent package. Ichigo's face was in 'serious mode' underneath the mask as he peeked around the corner and took out another two cameras as quickly as he could. The hallways were silent, not even the sounds from the heating vents were able to be heard.

According to Urahara's information, Abarai's office should be around here somewhere. Ichigo tried to draw a mental map of the floor, but it slipped away. He couldn't remember, which wasn't good at all. He only had about eight minutes until security would be up here to check why the cameras weren't working, and if time ran out his target would be allowed to get away. He would have to run away, and Ichigo hated doing that, absolutely _hated_ it. So it was not an option, whether his memory worked or not, Ichigo would tear this office apart before he ran away, eight minutes was plenty of time.

Ichigo ran up to a suspicious looking door, and with hesitating one bit, lifted his leg and promptly kicked it open with as much force as he could muster. The poor wooden door, although well made, could not handle such force, and whipped open without giving it a second thought.

Well, what do you know. Ichigo's instinct must have been top-notch, because standing in that room with a surprised look was the very red-headed male Ichigo was looking for.

"Must be my lucky day." Ichigo whispered beneath his mask, knowing that the other man wouldn't have heard it. Abarai turned quickly to face Ichigo head on, his face trying to be strong, but his eyes were giving away his fear. Ichigo could sense it, heck he could almost taste fear. It was natural.

"Who the hell are you, brat?" The target broadened his shoulders and stood taller, trying to intimidate Ichigo, but there was no way that was going to happen. Ichigo was a hell of a lot scarier than this rich bastard.

Ichigo, of course, didn't answer him, but instead reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his small, and incredibly deadly dagger. It wasn't his preferred weapon, but he had left his pistol back at the base, so this was his only option beside hand-to-hand combat.

"What the hell are you doing here dressed in that get-up, kid? Get out of here before I call security!" Abarai walked over to a desk and nonchalantly picked up a manila folder full of papers. Ichigo could see a light sheen of sweat starting to build on his target's forehead, and he smiled. The poor lad was trying to act cool, but that wouldn't save his life, not at all.

"Are you deaf? I'm calling security, and don't you dare expect for me to bail your ass out of Juvi. Who do you think you are, sneaking into my office after we're closed?"

Ichigo's answer was the same as it always was. He silently gripped the knife as tight as possible and pointed it straight at the shaking male across from him. The sharp blade seemed to glisten in the light from the bulbs overhead, and the marks from all those killed with this blade seemed visible once again, even though there were no blemishes actually upon it.

"H-Hey kid, come on. Let's talk about this, okay?"

Of course Ichigo wasn't going to talk about it. There was no negotiating his way out of this, it was set in stone.

Ichigo stepped forwards warily, judging what kind of move Abarai would make to evade him. Ichigo would have laughed if he could have as the red-headed male threw the loose-leaf papers in the air and darted behind a desk, hoping to have distracted Ichigo enough for him to escape. He was panting, not because he was exhausted, but out of fear. His chest rose and fell rapidly with his wild breathing, and Ichigo stood silently waiting for the opportune moment.

"I know you." He took a deep breath and then continued. "Of course I know you. You're all over the news, aren't you Ogihci?"

Oh, so the bastard did know who he was. That would make everything easier.

"You're here to kill me. I'm next? What have I done to upset you and your assassins? Hm?" He started to throw his hands around dramatically as he spoke, and his face became red from yelling so harshly.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. Time was running out and all this guy was doing was trying to stall, but it was working. That was only because this man was so fucking funny to watch. Ichigo scuffed his white plastic-covered shoe on the floor, and at the moment he watched Abarai relax a bit, he lunged.

As Renji saw Ichigo's muscles tense and then strike, he reached down to the nearby office phone and hit the 'security' button conveniently placed there. This only meant that Ichigo had less time than he imagined, so he would have to hurry this up. Abarai pushed his rolling desk chair towards Ichigo, but the teenager easily sidestepped the obstacle and continued towards the shaking man next to the large window. If only he could push Abarai out, that would make everything easier.

"FUCK YOU! I _hate_ you!" The red-head's voice was increasingly louder now, and Ichigo sighed quietly. He hated loud noises.

With a nod of the head, a smile, and a quick jump into the air, Ichigo brought the knife deep into Abarai's pale throat. His knife easily cut through the thin flesh on his neck, and it met no restraint as it was buried to the hilt in his main vein. Blood poured out of the wound, and Ichigo jumped off of the corpse before any of Abarai's _liquids_ got onto him. The once clean and sparkly office floor was now stained forever with Abarai's blood, soaking so deep that nothing would be able to remove the scent of death from this office.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard coming from the hallway. Ichigo flinched as a loud, booming security man's voice rang out close to the room he was in.

"Abarai-sama, where are you? Are you all right?"

And that was Ichigo signal to go, and with the swish of a cape Ichigo had a new pair of gloves on and was scaling the building at a much faster speed than he previously did. His breath was coming in short bursts as he tried to remain as quiet as possible. It would only be around four minutes or so before the security guards located Renji Abarai's dead corpse, and that made it more possible for Ichigo to be found. The cameras Ichigo had shot while scaling, and inside the large building would be up soon, and they would get a great close up of Ichigo gently moving away from the murder scene. That would be the end of his career all right.

At about the fortieth floor, Ichigo spotted a mysterious looking car parking quietly in the lot below. The car was obviously Urahara's shiny new toy, and Ichigo laughed at how stupid Urahara would look inside of the car. He could almost imagine him now. Poor Yoruichi, she liked smaller, more unnoticeable car, whereas Urahara preferred to flaunt his money, either by his car or his clothing. The man preached about 'blending in', but had the gall to drive that around with a murderer on the loose?

"I suspect the mission went well?" Urahara's voice chimed in over the device in his ear. Some minor static crackled, but it cleared up on its own in seconds.

"What else did you expect? Did you think I would fail?" Ichigo shivered lightly as a breeze blew through and ruffled his cloak. His hood flew back unexpectedly, and Ichigo scrambled to pull it back on while holding on to the edge of a window.

Urahara laughed, like he normally did after one of Ichigo's missions. "Never would I think that about you. You're number one, and I don't forget it."

Ichigo smiled as he got closer to the ground he so desperately wanted to be planted on. "I learned from the best."

With that said, Ichigo let go of the building and fell.

* * *

It had been hours since Ichigo's departure, and all Grimmjow could do was pace. Back and forth, back and forth, wasting the minutes away while wearing down the carpet.

Aizen had already called for lunch, but the bluenette wasn't feeling any type of apatite right now. He was sure his nerves would instantly repel any sort of nourishment until Ichigo and company returned safely to the base.

Grimmjow had a bad feeling about this whole thing, he just wished Ichigo would be back here, safely in his arms.

"Shit!" Grimmjow swore as he accidentally ran into the bed-side table in Ichigo's room while in his thoughts. He bit his lip as he concentrated on the pain slowly seeping from the impact spot, but it wasn't leaving fast enough so he threw himself onto the feathery bed and hugged a pillow to his chest. It smelled like Ichigo...

"Ichi..." Grimmjow pulled one of the white pillows closer, and inhaled the scent that was imbedded into them. The pillow had yet to be changed by the room keeper, but only becasuse Grimjow had insisted that they not. Grimmjow growled lightly as a light knock echoed on Ichigo's door. Before he could answer or even stand, the door swung open and Ulquiorra stepped inside.

"What the fuck do you want?" Grimmjow sat up and reluctantly jumped off of the bed.

"Aizen-sama wishes for you to attend dinner, even if you do not wish to."

Oh wow, that much time had passed. He hesitantly glanced at the nearby clock and held in a groan when he noticed the time. It was around six-thirty at night now, but it only seemed like minutes had passed since Ulquiorra requested him to lunch.

"Holy shit, where's the time gone?" Grimmjow asked no one in particular, but merely mentioned it to himself as a side comment.

"Grimmjow, please make yourself presentable for Aizen-sama and come to the dining hall immediantly. If you do not, I dare not think about the consequences." The monotone superior slipped out of the room without another glance.

The teal haired man, although he did not wish it, started to get up and pull his appearance together. His hair was a mess from laying on the bed, and he had small dark lines forming underneath his eyes. Grimmjow reached for Ichigo's wooden brush that was sitting on the sink, and with a sad smile he drug it through his untamed locks. He could imagine Ichigo in the morning as he brushed his orange hair sleepily, and Grimmjow bit his lip at the thought. Inside his mind he promised himself he would see Ichigo during his morning routine, because Ichigo was coming home, no matter what.

* * *

Dinner had come and gone, and Ichigo hadn't shown up from his mission yet. Although he didn't seem like the kind of person to worry, Grimmjow was almost beside himself with worry and grief. By now Ichigo had been gone for almost seven hours, and he hoped it was because Urahara had taken him out for a treat after his success. He just wished Ichigo would contact him, somehow, someway, just as long as he could hear Ichigo's silky voice he had recently gotten accustomed to.

Grimmjow had finally returned to his room to pout instead of doing that in Ichigo's. He figured his room would be less painful to be in, because Ichigo's room had so many things that reminded him of, well, Ichigo. That was to be expected though.

"Ichi, are you all right? Did you make it, did you kill him. Please, give me a sign..." Grimmjow muttered to himself while looked up at the ceiling as if he were praying to God. He blindly grasped the TV remote and flicked the large screen television set on. Already the channel was set on the local news, and Grimmjow sat up quickly when he noticed the images on screen. He hit the sound button and turned it up until he could clearly hear what the woman newscaster was talking about.

"_...We've been standing outside the Seireitei Plastic Corporation building for about ten minutes now, and already two bodies have been discovered dead without a trace left behind. Although we do not currently know the identity of the young man found outside the building, we do have confirmation about the first body discovered. Abarai Renji had been working at Seireitei for five years, before climbing his way up the occupation ladder and becoming one of the owners of this billion dollar industry. Abarai's family has only just made their way to the scene, and truthfully, I believe we are all grieving alongside them. Abarai-san was truly a wonderful part of our community, and..."_

Grimmjow choked on the spit in his mouth as his finger trembled on the 'off' button. That second body, it couldn't have been...there was no way... Ichigo couldn't have died alongside this Abarai guy, right? Grimmjow felt tears gather in the corner of his eyes, and he blinked as the unknown feeling took over his body.

"Fuck this shit." Grimmjow stood and grabbed at his chest where his heart was. It felt as if he was being stabbed, hard. What was this feeling? Grimmjow had never felt this kind of pain before, nothing besides the physical pain he was so accustomed to because of his dangerous occupation. His heart was beating so fast it felt as if it might go ahead and leap out of his chest, but Grimmjow didn't know if that was the worst alternative.

_Right now, he would have done anything to cease this pain he was feeling._

"Ichigo, please tell me this isn't you. Oh God, please..." He sat on the bed as the teenager's body started to feel numb. He grunted as another wave of pain went through his body, and he shuddered as it made it's way from his toes all the way to the tips of his hair.

Grimmjow would have went out and talked to Aizen about what was happening, but he didn't want anybody to see him in this state: tears running down his read cheeks as he wallowed in sadness silently. Ichigo had to come back, he _had_ to! He had only just started this...relationship with the orangette, so there was no way he was going to give up on the growing connection between them. It still had to grow, _they_ still had to grow.

"Ichigo, please come back to me. Please tell me you aren't hurt, and that you will be coming back. I need you, I need you to help me through this. You're so much stronger th-than I am, Ichi- I need you, please..." Grimmjow begged into the pillow so that his cries for help were unheard.

The best Christmas present for Grimmjow would be the return of his most important person right now, Ichigo. After all, Christmas day was tomorrow.

* * *

Ending A/N's:

Thank you, thank you. I know, it's a miracle that i updated.

Also, i have a question for you guys. If Grimmjow were to get Ichigo a pet, what would it be and what would its name be? Drop some ideas in you review, and ill throw them in a hat and pick one out:D yay! thank you guys so much for reading this story even after i hadn't updated in forever. it makes me excited(:


	10. Pug

**A/N:**

_Fact_: This is the second time i wrote this A/N, because stupidd FF decided to erase this part even after i clicked save. Does that happen to you guys? Ugh.

Well, blahblah i forgot everything i wrote up here, something about yay sorry this is after Christmas and something about copy and paste the link below to see the pug i think looks like Elf.

http: / media. photbucket. com/ image/ pug/ Teddylover_2008/ pug20black. jpg? o=23

oh, and something about remove the spaces to see it. thanks.

**Chapter Warnings**: CHEESY-NESS! XD

**Characters Introduced**: Elf

* * *

**Pug**: A small sturdy dog of an ancient breed originating in China, having a snub nose, wrinkled face, squarish body, short smooth hair, and curled tail.

Ichigo's heart was beating as he walked down the hallways towards his room. Urahara, Yoruichi, and he had returned back to Las Noches soon after completing the mission. Ichigo was just excited to be back, and he was super ecstatic to be able to see Grimmjow. It was now one in the morning, Christmas day. Outside it had been snowing, and Ichigo had grimaced at the sight. He was sick of the snow, and the main reason for that was only because Ichigo loved the summer so much. The summer flowers and the warm sunshine on his skin was enough to get Ichigo hooked forever. Winter always seemed to get Ichigo in the 'bah-humbug' mood.

The orange head smiled as he neared Grimmjow's room. With a deep breath, Ichigo pushed inside with an enthusiastic look on his face. He frowned slightly as he made into the empty room, and looked around to see if the bluenette happened to be somewhere random in the room. Quietly he made his way to the bathroom, carefully stepping over a floor full of discarded items, and peeked into the dark bathroom.

"Grimm?" Ichigo turned on the light switch and glanced around the messy room. Apparently the one person Ichigo was looking for just so happened to be missing.

Grumbling to himself, Ichigo shoved his hands into his pockets and waltzed out of the room, not even bothering to close the door behind him. The teenager was just so upset that he couldn't find Grimmjow, so he wasn't bothering with anything until he found the other teen.

Ichigo passed the library and glanced in through the small window on the door. It was empty, except for the stuffy librarian sitting at the desk nose-deep in a dusty American novel. Ichigo groaned in annoyance.

When he didn't want to find Grim, he found him. When he wanted to find him, he couldn't. Figures, huh?

By the time Ichigo reached him room he was starting to feel a little blue. He was thinking about taking a nap and trying to look for Grimmjow again after he was rested, but as he opened the door to his room Ichigo noticed something was off. He tensed as he flicked the light on and took a defensive stance, wandering who could possibly be in his room.

Ichigo could have laughed when he noticed the mop of blue hair sticking out from underneath the covers on Ichigo's white bed. His hand collided with the cool metal of the doorknob as he closed it, and the smell of Grimmjow's casual cologne surrounded Ichigo.

Ichigo stepped onto the bed's platform, and for a moment all Ichigo did was gaze at the other teen sleeping soundly. Another smile graced Ichigo's lips as he gently brushed a stray lock of hair off of Grimmjow's forehead. Grimmjow stirred lightly, and with a groan he opened his teal eyes.

"Ichi?" Grimmjow's voice was still thick with sleep, but once his eyes cleared and he noticed Ichigo standing there Grimmjow shot up with a smile.

"Ichigo! Are you okay? How did the mission go?" Ichigo laughed and sat down next to Grimmjow. The teal-haired teen pulled the covers back and slung one side over the both of them as they dangled their legs off the side of the bed.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly healthy. Everything went fine, not a scratch on anyone except Abari."

Grimmjow sighed and slumped over in relief. "Then who was the other body found outside the building? I was watching the news, and they said two bodies were discovered. I thought it was you…" Grimmjow looked longingly at Ichigo's form. He had missed the orangette so much, and couldn't possibly imagine what life would be like without him now.

Ichigo looked at him puzzled. "I didn't kill anyone except for Abari…maybe he fell from the window? It's not unlikely."

Grimmjow took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. "Maybe," he sighed. "Maybe not, but you know what? None of that matters right now. I'm just so glad you made it back in time for Christmas."

"Christmas?" Ichigo gasped. He had forgotten all about that specific holiday until now, and that was mostly because he had been focusing so hard on the Abari case.

"It may be early, but today is definitely Christmas."

"I can't believe I forgot. I didn't get anybody anything." Ichigo was hit by a large wave of guilt. He remembered now, that the hints of the holiday were still sitting obviously throughout the hideout. Ichigo mentally slapped himself as he remembered seeing the pretty wreaths hanging in the lobby, and the white Christmas tree that was in the library. He had seen them, but he had been too stupid to even think about why it was there.

Ichigo groaned and covered his face with his palms. They were still rough and sore from climbing the skyscraper earlier, but they were doing a good job at hiding him from the world.

"Hey, come on now. Don't get sad just because you didn't get anyone presents. I think everyone is grateful enough that you made it back to us." Grimmjow grinned as he saw Ichigo's body lose some of the tension in it.

Ichigo pressed his hands tighter to his face in embarrassment. He let out a muffled 'You're a mushball' before leaning into Grimmjow's side.

"If you think I'm a mushball now, just wait till you see your gift." The teal haired teenager reached over and gently pulled the hands away from Ichigo's face. Ichigo's brown eyes met his own, and the older teen laughed softly when Ichigo's face flushed red.

"Don't be like that, Ichi. You're gonna love this." Grimmjow walked over to the opposite side of the bed.

"Close your eyes." Ichigo did as he was told, and closed his eyes tightly together. He was slightly nervous about what he was going to get, but he stopped there and with a firm face Ichigo reminded himself that it didn't matter what Grimm got him, because it was the thought that counted. Grimmjow had gone out of his way to get him a present, even though Ichigo had gone as far as to forget Christmas was even coming.

Ichigo smiled as he felt the air in the room shift while Grimmjow walked back towards him. "Open." Was all that Grimmjow whispered, and Ichigo hesitantly cracked his eyes open.

When Ichigo's eyes met with a set of brown instead of the normal blue, he almost broke his face with the smile he gave.

"I found him at the pound. He looked so cute, and I couldn't walk away and leave him there…" Grimmjow trailed off nervously. Ichigo ran a hand through his hair and swallowed as he eyed the small ball of fur lounging in Grimmjow's arms.

"Here," Grimmjow held the small puppy out to Ichigo. "He's yours anyways."

Ichigo was smiling so wide now that it was practically illuminating the room. Grimmjow could help but mirror the smile Ichigo was emitting.

Ichigo laughed as the small animal instantly went to sleep as Ichigo cradled him with his arms.

"Grimm, I can't believe you got me a pug." Ichigo bit his lip to stop from smiling again, and instead looked up at the other teen. Grimmjow had a light blush on his cheeks, and out of embarrassment he refused to meet Ichigo's eyes. Ichigo almost laughed at how cheesy this whole situation was turning.

"What's his name?" Grimmjow perked up then, and with a happy intake of breath he answered.

"The lady at the pound said they'd been callin' him Elf. I don't know if you want his name to change or what, he's your little guy; name 'im what you want."

"Elf…" Ichigo ran his free hand over the soft fur on Elf's back. He was solid black, and as he slept a long pink tongue stuck out of his mouth.

"He's so cute…" Ichigo sat Elf down on the bed, but the pug didn't seem to mind the transfer. Instead he curled up into a ball and fell right back to sleep.

"Thank you Grimmjow. He's amazing, I love him." Grimmjow let out a happy breath as those words left Ichigo's mouth, and the taller man leaned forward and placed a light kiss on the tip of Ichigo's nose.

"You're welcome. I was nervous, 'cause I didn't think you were really into the small lapdog kind of thing, but I'm glad you like him so much." Grimmjow decided to take a seat next to Ichigo on the bed now, and Elf snuggled in between the two males.

"So, Grimmjow," Ichigo looked away from the man next to him to hide his embarrassment. "Is Elfie like our own little baby?"

Grimmjow didn't exactly know how to react to that, and he showed it openly when his face went slack with shock. When Ichigo finally turned back to look at him, Grimmjow couldn't possibly tell him anything negative. Ichigo was just too cute, and _god_, his eyes were so persuasive.

With a sigh, Grimmjow let his hand tickle Elf's little black ear. "Only if you're the mom."

Seeing Ichigo's next smile was definitely worth losing some dignity over.

* * *

Ichigo yawned as he stretched, well, tried to anyways.

"For such a small dog, you sure do take up a lot of room." Ichigo complained as Elf lifted his head to look at his new owner. Currently, Ichigo was lying on about four feet of bed, whilst Elf was comfortably stretched across the rest of it.

"Don't give me that look young man. I'm the mom; I deserve more bed space than you." Elf tilted his head to the side as he tried to comprehend what Ichigo was saying to him.

"Aw, forget it. Come on, let's go get breakfast. But first, we need to go wake up daddy." Ichigo climbed out of the comfortable bed, and made his way over to the closet to throw on his uniform. He wished that he could go downstairs and enjoy breakfast in his pajamas like all normal people do, but alas, this was the assassin world, and in the assassin world you have to look professional at all times.

After getting his clothes on and brushing his teeth and hair, Ichigo started off towards Grimmjow's room with Elf in tow. The hallways weren't bustling like normal and Ichigo figured it was either because they were already awake and eating breakfast, or because they wanted to sleep in a little later since it was Christmas.

Elf stayed close to Ichigo throughout the short walk to Grimmjow's room, but the small dog still sniffed and watched his surroundings closely.

"Come on Elfie." Ichigo called to the dog as he lightly knocked on Grimmjow's bedroom door. Elf padded up to him while the door opened to the room and a sleepy Grimmjow emerged.

Ichigo laughed when he saw Grimmjow's look, but he tugged him into a tight embrace as they made their way inside Grimmjow's messy room.

"Merry Christmas." Ichigo whispered in Grimmjow's ear, and almost instantly Grimmjow was wide awake. He wrung his arms around Ichigo's small waist and pulled him closer to his chest.

"Merry Christmas to you, too." He whispered back, before pulling away from Ichigo and pressing his lips against the others.

It was a sweet kiss, the kind that Ichigo preferred over the sloppy, tongue-filled ones. Those were always a turn-off for him, so the orangette was relieved when Grimmjow kept his tongue in his own mouth. Ichigo let his right hand migrate into the blue hair above him, and he gently curled a piece of the un-brushed hair with his finger. Grimmjow was just about to deepen this kiss when a soft growl echoed in the quiet room. Ichigo pulled his lips away from Grimmjow's, only to find Elf alert and angry next to his feet on the floor.

"I guess he doesn't like it when we kiss…" Ichigo laughed, and reached down to pet the dog. Elf instantly relaxed as Ichigo ran his hands down the black fur.

Grimmjow laughed too as the dog gave him a smug look. "I knew I should have gotten that cat instead. Stupid cock-blocking dog." Grimmjow muttered the last part under his breath, and Ichigo looked up at his confused.

"What?"

Grimmjow gave him a fake smile and covered up what he had just said. "Oh, nothing. Just talkin' to myself like normal."

Ichigo stood up and pushed Grimmjow towards the closet. "If you say so; now get dressed, I'm starving and I'm not going to miss breakfast just 'cause you want to make out before you get ready."

Ichigo turned around while Grimmjow changed, and he could feel heat seeping up his neck at the thought of the almost naked teenager only feet away from him. All thoughts of jumping Grimmjow ceased when his stomach growled loudly, and Ichigo groaned alongside it.

"Just hold your horses. I'll be done in a sec." Grimmjow finally pulled his jacket on while he raced towards the bathroom. "I'm dressed, Ichi, you can turn around now. And tell that dog of yours to stop glaring at me like that."

"He's your dog too! Isn't that right Elfie?" Ichigo bent over and picked the pug up, and Elf instantly relaxed in Ichigo's arms.

Grimmjow reappeared with his hair went with gel and his teeth looking a much cleaner shade of white. Trudging over to his lover quickly, Grimmjow gave Ichigo a quick kiss on the lips. Ichigo smiled at this, and laughed as he felt Elf sigh against him.

"Aw, Elf; daddy loves you too. Give Elfie a kiss daddy~" Ichigo cooed as he gave Grimmjow 'puppy-dog' eyes.

"What? No way am I kissing him. He doesn't like me anyways." Grimmjow tried to escape, but found that he couldn't when Ichigo frowned sadly.

"Don't you love out baby, Grimm?" Ichigo's eyes were wide, and Elf turned to give him the same look.

"Oh, _God_." Grimmjow moaned, but relented in his argument. With a scowl on his face the blue-haired teen bent over and lightly kissed the dog on the head. Of course, Grimmjow gave Ichigo another kiss as he bent back up. Ichigo's lips were along the way, certainly he was going to make a pit-stop there. Who wouldn't?

"Alright, enough of this. I might survive an assassination, but everyone dies without food, so let's go now! Please?"

"'ight, just stop naggin' me." Grimmjow closed the door behind them as they made their way to the bustling dining-room. They didn't say much as they walked slowly down the hallway, Ichigo's previous want to get to the food as quickly as possible replaced by the thoughts of how much he loved holding Grimmjow's hand as they walked. So instead of running towards the food, Ichigo reluctantly slowed so he could conjoin his left hand in Grimmjow's right. Elf was sleeping on his right arm, which made Ichigo's arm a bit sweaty, but he didn't mind. Mom's never cared if their children got sweat on them.

This was _his_ family. Their family, and it started with two gay men and a pug.

* * *

Ending A/N's:

Ah, none really? I'm super tired, but there's no way I'm going to sleep on the last day before school starts back up. No way.

Thanks to my readers, I am very excited about how well this story is going. You guys make me happy! Anyways, thanks to all of you guys. **Drop a review on your way out and i might just have to add some lemon to the next chapter to sweeten everything up!** I will forwarn you, though, that in the next chapter or two, imma add in a nice droplet of DRAMA!

Everyone likes drama, right? Eh, well i dont know if you'll like whats going to happen, but it's definitely _going to happen._

Thank you!

-Ashweeeee:D


	11. Gone

**A/N:**

Let's just say this isn't my finest piece of work. I'm very disappointed with it. No lemon, lime, or citrus of any flavor 'cause i didn't want to! It'll happen eventually XD

**Chapter Warnings:** Murder, OOC, and it's a little sad.

**Characters Introduced:** Mentions of a woman and a man who will definitely be in the plot later on!

* * *

**Gone**: Being away from a place; absent or having departed.

Ichigo walked calmly down the hallways of Las Noches alone, Elf having rather stayed in the room and slept. The orangette couldn't help but smile as his thoughts turned to his black pug, and then inevitably strayed towards Grimmjow. Most of the time now-a-days Ichigo caught himself thinking about his new lover, and his first serious relationship with someone. Ichigo entered his quiet room and barely held in an eye role as he saw Elf passed out on the bed with his tongue out like usual.

Grimmjow had been sent away for a mission the afternoon before, and now Ichigo knew what feelings Grimmjow had experienced while he himself was away. Ichigo was overly worried about the uncoordinated bluenette, but he figured Grimmjow wasn't _that_ bad.

"Calm down, Ichigo." the teenager whispered to himself as he plopped onto his bed and ran his hand through his hair like he normally did when he was feeling nervous. Elf cautiously scooted closer to his mother and nosed Ichigo to get some attention. Ichigo let his hand rest on Elf's small black head, but instead of moving around, Ichigo's hand sat still. Elf was rather upset about the lack of attention, and he showed Ichigo how mad he was by storming off into the corner of the room. Ichigo vaguely realized what Elf was doing because he was so dept in his thoughts, but he spared the retreating pup a glance as he moved out of Ichigo's line of vision.

"Hey."

Ichigo glanced up and was met with the sight of Kisuke standing only a foot or two away. He wasn't wearing the usual uniform, and instead he wore dark dress pants and an equally dark button up shirt tucked in. On his blond locks sat a black fedora, and Ichigo unconsciously licked his lips at the sight of his sharp looking mentor.

"You look sleek. What's the occasion?" Ichigo smirked at the older man. Kisuke took a few leisurely steps towards Ichigo and dug his hands deep into his pockets. Ichigo's eyebrows dropped in confusion as he looked at the frown on the other man's face.

"We've got to leave." Kisuke leaned against one of the white wooden bed posts and looked up at the ceiling so he wouldn't have to see Ichigo's stricken face. As if on cue, furious rustling sounded beside him, and when Kisuke looked away from the ceiling he was met with the face of a very pissed off Ichigo.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo's body was tense, and his hands were clutched tightly into fists by his sides. Orange hair seemed to be standing on end like a dog's would when it was angry.

"Sousuke says you're a threat to his business here. He wants us out of here tonight."

Ichigo's silence spoke louder than any words ever could have.

* * *

The water swayed and moved like tango dancers on the dance floor. Bubble's from Grimmjow's oxygen mask floated in a steady stream upwards, and colorful fish darted every which way in the murky waters of the lake. Grimmjow moved his hands up slowly, due to the gravity under water, and adjusted his goggles to make sure they were still correctly sealed to his face.

Up above, the shadow of a lone boat illuminated by the glow of the crescent moon darkened the water's tint. Grimmjow could see the bottom of the boat bobbing in the water steadily, and he willed his flippers to move towards the back of the boat at a slow pace.

The wet-suit covered head popped out of the water gently, to make sure he stayed unnoticed by the people on the boat. Without thinking twice, the teenager kicked off the unnecessary swim gear; including the flippers and the wetsuit. With the extra weight off, Grimmjow could move around at a more speedy pace. The air supply tank floated to the bottom of the lake as well, and with all of that off Grimmjow hoisted himself onto the ledge of the boat and peeked onto the deck.

A few men were standing at a close proximity to Grimmjow talking about the accumulating fog on the water. Grimmjow had noticed it a few minutes ago, but the change in weather was to his advantage.

"I didn't think tha water'd be so foggy at this time 'o night." one of the men lit a cigarette and blew a puff of smoke into the air. The other man clicked his tongue, and nodded his agreement.

"I hear ya. What do ya think boss is doin'? Right now?" Grimmjow felt his ears perk up. Only a bit more information...

"Heard he's in his quarters makin' a deal of sorts. We're s'possed ta be lookin' out for possible dangers and all. Who in their righ' mind would attack at this time 'o night?" both of the men laughed, but only for a moment. Grimmjow found his opportunity, and swiftly pulled his body onto the deck fully with a knife in each hand.

"I would." the two men turned to look at Grimmjow, but the teenager was much faster. With lightning speed Grimmjow had slit the two males' jugulars and crushed their windpipes with the hilt of the knives. Both men gasped for air and tried to call out, but they couldn't find the air to make a noise at all. With a haunting smile, Grimmjow pushed both men overboard before their blood could stain the wooden floorboards, and he watched as thick streams of blood tainted the water. Because of the fog though, you would have to concentrate hard to see the discoloration.

"Bingo."

* * *

Ichigo's bags felt more heavy than they really were. The guilt of leaving Grimmjow and his other new friends without saying goodbye was hard to accept, and was weighing down on him greatly. Assassins aren't supposed to have feelings, so Ichigo was afraid of what he was feeling now.

_Abandonment_.

_Sickening_ _fear_.

_**Loneliness**_.

He didn't want to leave his family, and he especially didn't want to leave Grimm behind. What would his sisters do when they never got word from him again? Ichigo shuddered at the thought.

Urahara stood next to him, and Kitty was out by the limo talking to the driver. His heart was crushed fully and completely by now; this happening when Urahara had announced that future contact with Grimmjow was unacceptable if he were to continue being an assassin. Ichigo tried to suggest only staying in contact over Skype or text messaging, but neither Aizen nor Kisuke would accept it. Ichigo had shown Kisuke how much he cared for that idea by throwing his blond haired teacher into the nearest wall and storming out of sight.

Yoruichi emerged from the stairwell with a grim look on her face, and she crossed her arms over her chest before meeting Ichigo's eyes.

"Ready kid?"

The foyer was empty except for the three assassins, mainly because it was so late. The only person in the building that knew they were leaving was Aizen himself, and probably his right-hand lackey as well. Ichigo picked up his medium-sized bag filled with his possessions and threw it over his shoulder.

"Might as well." Ichigo started off towards the stairs, and Kisuke followed quietly behind with Yoruichi next to him. Time seemed to be going in super slow-motion, and as he stepper onto the ground Ichigo felt as if were barely moving at all. Ichigo's thoughts were going haywire though, and as he stepped into the moonlight shimmering on the frozen ground, Ichigo could only think of one thing; one person.

_Grimmjow_...

* * *

Grimmjow peeked around a corner and quickly sucked his head back in as he noticed a woman standing nearby. Her hair was dark and in a bowl-cut shape, and her pale face lacked make-up, so she had a rather scary looking figure. Grimmjow checked to make sure she was only person around this area, but was greeted with the sight of two men standing not to far off to the left.

Quickly patting himself down to check his arsenal, the blue haired teenager was upset to find he had only packed darts, knives, and a small pistol hiding in waterproof bag in his bullet proof vest. Now is when the mission got difficult. If he used the knife on the woman, she would more than likely see him before he could kill her. If he used the darts on the men in the distance, the possibility of the woman noticing the darts go by was there. Grimmjow grabbed two of the tranquilizer darts and loaded them into the bamboo tube that had also been in the bag.

He lined up the sights with the first man, and held steady. The three people were staying rather stationary, so Grimmjow figured this would be easier than he originally thought, but of course it didn't stay that way. The short, tan-skinned woman stalked off suddenly, walking to the area Grimmjow had been previously. That meant she had the chance of seeing her fallen co-workers, so now the teenage assassin had even less time than before. Quickly he blew one dart into the neck of the taller man, and before the smaller man could shout his surprise, Grimmjow had already nailed him too.

Both men fell to the ground in a silent heap, and Grimmjow looked up at the moon with a grateful look. He imagined that Ichigo would like to see the moon when it was so full and bright in the cloudless sky. The teal-haired teen moved out of his spot beside the corner, and moved slowly to a small building on the deck of the boat. He was guessing that this was the captain's quarters, the room of the man he was working to kill.

Creeping quietly along the deck, Grimmjow couldn't help but feel fear bubble up in his chest. He readied his gun, and unlocked the safety.

_Breathe_, Grimmjow thought to himself as he pressed his back against the wooden wall of the small building. _No more pauses! _He yelled to himself as he realized this mission needed to end quick. Cool air flowed deep into Grimmjow's lungs as he gulped in one last breath of air, and his body covered in goose flesh.

_Three_...

_Two_...

_One_...

A shot sounded out into the air, and a flock of frightened birds took flight. The night was still. The night was quiet.

* * *

Ichigo had a bad feeling, and when he had a bad feeling it was usually something _big_. Ichigo was loading his bags onto the conveyer belt when the loud cawing of birds flew overhead. Ichigo looked up and was met with the sight of six ravens flying over the building at a fast pace.

_Ravens_? Ichigo asked himself.

"You know," Ichigo's gaze flicked to the sudden voice of the now present Kisuke. "Ravens are supposed to be a bad omen. I wonder what's up."

"Don't tell me that." Ichigo sulked. Urahara walked closer to him and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and Urahara took advantage of the situation and his hand lingered a little longer than it should have. Ichigo drew in a deep breath and blew it up while looking up at the sky for the last time before walking back into the airport building. His hands rubbed up and down his arms to try and get some more heat into his body, but with this mood Ichigo was in, nothing could possibly warm him up right now.

And that was how Ichigo Kurosaki left Karakura Town, and his sanity, behind.

* * *

Ending A/N's:

WOAH.

Who's POV should I do in the next chapter: Ichigo, Grimmjow, or a new character?

-_Ashhhh_!


	12. InSaNiTy

**A/N:**

WOW. Been awhile mates. Heh

**Chapter Warnings: **InSaNiTy StRiKeS

**Characters Introduced: **Mentions of Ichigo's "Other Side".

* * *

**Insanity**: Mental illness or derangement.

Ichigo stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror as gelled fingers worked their magic on the crazy head of orange hair he owned. The plane ride home had been absolute torture to Ichigo's mind, and he was currently not on speaking terms with anyone and everyone. He sighed as he leaned forward and let his throbbing head rest against the cool glass. Ichigo's eyes closed, and for a brief moment Ichigo felt a little better. He knew it wouldn't last long.

"_Yo, what's with tha' pitiful face King?"_

Ichigo jumped. Brown eyes widened until his eyebrows were almost touching his hairline, and Ichigo glanced around furiously looking for Urahara. No one was there.

"What the hell?" Rough hands came up to massage his tender neck, hoping it would clear away some of the fog in Ichigo's mind. Maybe if he got rid of this damn headache, he wouldn't be hearing all sorts of crazy-

"_King!"_

The voice literally echoed around the whole bathroom, making Ichigo turn to check every crevice he could find with a beating heart. That single word seemed to bounce off a wall, go through his head, and then repeat the process over and over again. Ichigo pulled at his hair in an attempt to wake himself up, and large clumps of hair gathered into his fists. Tears gathered at the corners over his eyes, but did not fall. He could withstand a bit of pain, after all.

"_King."_

"_King!"_

"_King~"_

"_King."_

"_King!"_

"What the hell do you want from me?" Ichigo fell to the tiled floor in confusion, and he scooted back against the wall to guard his back. Deep scratches marred Ichigo's face as he drug his fingernails down the flushed skin of his cheeks. His harsh breaths echoed in the small room as he tried to reel in his fear. Nothing was here? Ichigo looked around the tiled floor all the way up to the splatter-painted ceiling, but nothing was visible.

"Fu-ck." Ichigo released a pent up breath when no response from the mysterious voice sounded. With a harsh sigh, Ichigo found himself laying on the floor with his eyes closed and a scowl featured on his tan face.

That's how Kisuke Urahara found him; laying on the floor. Urahara had startled a little when he walked into the bathroom and found his student seemingly hurt, but when he noticed the steady rise and fall of breath Urahara was sure that Ichigo was simply asleep. With a sincere smile, Urahara lifted Ichigo into his arms and carried him out to his own room.

Orange hair clashed horribly with the royal blue of Urahara's bedsheets, but the older man thought the contrast brought out the beauty in Ichigo's unique hair. Urahara took a few seconds to soak up the sight before him, silently appreciating having such a beauty for a student.

After a minute or two, Urahara went to the bathroom to fetch a bowl full of cold water and a clean rag. The temperature in the bedroom was slightly chilly, and Ichigo's skin had goose flesh from the cold air hitting his exposed skin. Urahara quickly fixed Ichigo's rumpled clothing and put the wet rag onto his forehead. A tan arm flinched as the cold rag touched his skin, but after a moment it stilled again.

"What in the world happened to you, Ichigo?" Urahara asked himself as he watched emotions flick over Ichigo's face in his unconscious state. Urahara bit his lip and as he reached down to push Ichigo's hair out of his face, was suddenly shocked to find a familiar hand around his throat by a very much awake Ichigo.

"I-Ich-" Urahara's hands quickly flew up to the appendages around his neck to free the air that was begging for release. His chocking breaths were loud in the silent room, and as his eyes started to roll back into his head, Urahara heard a voice.

"_Who do ya think ya are?"_

Followed by the sickening sound of a masochistic laugh. Urahara couldn't hold on much longer, and felt his consciousness slip through his grip. His body slumped against Ichigo's as Urahara took his last chocking breath.

The cackle continued to flow through Ichigo's lips, and he smiled as he glanced into a nearby mirror; his teeth now pointed at the ends and his eyes gold and black. Tufts of orange hair were grabbed roughly by shaking hands, and 'Ichigo' tugged until the strands started to fall out and land on the ground beside Urahara.

With shaking legs, 'Ichigo' made his way to the mirror with the smile still plastered on his face. A mere second passed before Ichigo's fist passed through the glass and sent shards in every direction. Blood ran down his knuckles, and when the urge came over him, Ichigo pulled his bloody fist to his mouth and licked one of the prominent streams off with a chuckle.

"_AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!"_

Ichigo felt the laugh slip out, and he realized it wasn't actually _him_ doing any of this at all. Something had came over him, but Ichigo's strength was sapped by whatever was inside his mind.

_You're mine._

Those words echoed in his mind as Ichigo felt himself gaining control of his body once again. With a sudden intake of breath, Ichigo's knees buckled under him and he hit the tile flooring roughly. His hands were shaking uncontrollably, and his brown eyes were impossibly wide as his gaze flew over the unconscious body of Urahara Kisuke.

"Urahara!" Ichigo started to scoot towards the still body, but a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over him. With one final look at his teacher, Ichigo fainted, still wandering if his teacher was alive or not, and still wandering what the hell had happened.

* * *

"_Gone_? What do you mean _gone_?" A furious teal-haired man stood angrily at the door of Szayel, who looked as if he had just gotten out of bed.

"Grimmjow, I'm only telling you the truth. The whole crew packed up and left town late yesterday. I didn't even know till this morning, myself."

Grimmjow swore loudly and marched off from Szayel's room, online to find himself face-to-face with his own door. He didn't want to go. Grimmjow knew the room would be empty, he _knew_, and he hated it. After so many years of being alone, he couldn't bear to look at the last place he had seen Ichigo. Ichigo had left him! Without a goodbye...

"Mother fuckin' shit!" he pushed open the door and slid inside, expecting total silence but wished for the embrace of his orange headed lover. Instead Grimmjow was met with the expectant and hungry brown eyes of Elf.

"Woof!" the small dog happily padded towards Grimmjow, finally happy to see someone he knew.

Grimmjow couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle as his so called 'child' came to him begging for food. Without a second thought, a pile of dog food was scooped into Elf's food dish, and the small dog was munching away without any worries.

"Where'd mommy go, Elf?" he asked the dog, who seemed to be more enthused with his food than Grimmjow himself. With an unhappy sigh, Grimmjow walked around the room, taking careful notice to all of Ichigo's things that were missing. As he was looking through the books, Grimmjow came across a rapidly written note hiding in-between _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ and _A Raisin in the Sun_, which were both books Ichigo had brought with him and left in Grimmjow's room.

With a sudden feeling of nervouness, Grimmjow unfolded the small parchment.

_Grimm,_

_I'm sorry. We had to leave, and I can't tell you why. Don't forget about me, Blueberry. I'll miss you._

_-Ichigo_

"God damn it!" the paper flew across the room and landed in the corner. Grimmjow felt his heart break. _Is this what liking someone always felt like?_, Grimmjow thought to himself. If so, he didn't want to be part of the process ever again.

* * *

Ending A/N's:

No lemon. I will eventually, I swear. But anyways, get ready for the new BADBOYICHIGO! I've added a **new poll** to my spaaaace, so please go vote:3

We need to find out a new man for Ichigo to pine over while he's separated from Grimmy-chaaan. Who though?

Thanks for reading, and _please answer the poll_!

-A


	13. Problems

**A/N:**

Basically, I had a poll and let you guys decide who Ichigo would be involved with next. Starrk and Tensa tied. I had fun with that.

Yeah. This is option 1 of 2, as you all requested. Enjoy.

**Chapter Warnings:** Little Violence

**Important Characters Introduced:** Starrk Coyote, Tensa, and Heinz, who is an OC and a supporting role.

* * *

**Problem**: A situation, matter, or person that presents perplexity or difficulty

Two years later...

His body moved with both the grace of a gazelle and the fierceness of a lion going for the kill. Taunt muscles flexed under the tight fabric of the training uniform, and the shirt rode up to show skin as the body moved into a new position with the twin daggers held in both hands. The sharp blades glinted dangerously in the harsh light in the room, and Ichigo hummed his approval of the look.

"Good." Ichigo walked over to the younger man in front of him. Blue eyes glanced up nervously as Ichigo eyed the body with appreciation.

"Raise your elbows a bit." the boy did as he was told. "Much better. From this angle you would be able to slit the throat of any target below six feet tall. If your elbow had been in the previous position," Ichigo put the arm back where it had been. "You would have missed and hit the shoulder instead, _if_ you were lucky."

"Sorry." the boy's head nodded in shame as he realized his mistake.

"No need for apologies. I'm here to teach you, and you're here to learn. It's part of the process, eh?" Ichigo laughed. The boy nodded and watched Ichigo with a stunned look. His blue eyes sparkled with adoration for his teacher. From this angle, the height difference between the two stood out drastically.

"Alright Tensa, time for some real combat. Think you're ready?" Ichigo pulled Zangetsu out from its sheath on his leg. The metallic sound hit both of their ears, and with a familiar smile Ichigo revealed the slightly curved blade he had become so accustomed to. It was a dark blade, with white along the sharp edges. It was also stained with the blood of all those Ichigo had killed within the past two years. Ichigo had become attached to the short sword, and had started favoring the farewell gift he had received from Kisuke before he moved out.

After the whole Los Noches problem, Ichigo had left his former teachers to go out on his own. Moving from Japan had been a hard task, but Ichigo really like the scenery of Germany. Ichigo had gone through hell and back to learn the new language; German isn't the easiest language to learn. And that's how Ichigo ended up in his own house, training the up-and-coming assassin, Tensa. His fifteen year old neighbor who had been living by himself. Not only was Ichigo surprised to find that Tensa knew who he was, but also that he was a big fan of Ogihci's work. Ichigo had taken him in without a second thought.

Ichigo readied his blade, and Tensa got into position. With a nod both boys went at each other. Ichigo rushed at the smaller boy, and ducked when a dagger was thrown precisely where his head had previously been. Tensa smirked for a second, but when Ichigo was at his face within seconds, the smirk fell along with his body as he moved to avoid the oncoming attack.

"Oh." the smaller boy exclaimed as the sharp point of Zangetsu barely touched the middle of his forehead. The blade was in the perfect position to kill him in a very lethal and messy way. Ichigo's laugh made Tensa blush even deeper than he had been; the blush not only being caused by the fact he lost so quickly, but also because his rather attractive teacher was standing so very close. If he leaned a little bit closer, Tensa would be able to drag his tongue along the sinful skin of Ichigo's neck.

Bad thoughts. Very, very bad thoughts.

Tensa mentally scolded himself as he caught his eyes wandering to Ichigo's ass as he bent over and picked up Zangetsu's black sheathe that had fallen off his leg. Tensa bit his lip. He wanted Ichigo so bad he was willing to chop off any of his limbs to have him.

However... Tensa sighed. Ichigo hadn't shown any interest in him so far, so why would he show any now? If Tensa had been asked three years ago if he ever expected to be in an unrequited relationship, he would have answered no without a stutter. Fate has it's ways however, that's what makes life so unpredictable. What was he supposed to do? You always fall in love with the wrong people these days.

"Good job today."

Tensa almost jumped as a hand was suddenly placed in front of his face. Slowly grabbing it, he tried to make it look like he wasn't thinking so hard, but that look was kind of hard to cover. Ichigo didn't say anything, so he guessed the taller man figured everything to be normal. Silently following his mentor as he led the way into his house, Tensa took a few seconds to enjoy the view of Ichigo's now shirtless back. His eyes didn't linger too long, because Ichigo had a nasty habit of turning around and looking back at him. He did, however, get the chance to see the tan, taunt muscles stretch as Ichigo flexed to relieve some of the stress.

Ichigo smirked at him as they made their way out of Ichigo's training room and into his well-sized home. The house was way too much for only one person; it had at least five rooms, that Tensa knew of, and four bathrooms. There was so much space, and the cellar downstairs was perfect to train in after it had underwent a bit of remodeling.

Tensa took a seat at the kitchen table while Ichigo opened the fridge.

"Drink?" he threw over his shoulder. The curly haired boy nodded. It was routine, this happened every time.

"Orange juice." he answered. The same as always. He was pretty sure Ichigo had handed him the same exact cup as well. The familiar tangy taste of the orange juice made the corners of Tensa's lips twist up into a half smile. Good lord, he loved orange.

* * *

The wind stirred Ichigo's cape, and he held it closer to him to fight off the bite of the cold. He felt like a cat submerged in water at this point. The rain hadn't let up all night, and now the wind was so strong the possibility of falling off a building was getting higher. Oh the lovely German weather. Ichigo looked down; sometimes he missed Japan, really missed it.

Looking up with determination, Ichigo eyed the two story house at the top of the hill. It was smaller than most of his normal assassination places, but whatever. The man inside was CEO of some company he probably should know. Unimportant details.

The orangette was just about to jump and head for the roof when he heard voices. Walking up the hill was a man in a tight fitting suit, and walking down was another man wearing the same thing. They stopped halfway down the hill, where Ichigo was currently hiding, and shook hands. Ichigo settled himself behind a rock and put his keen hearing to good use.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Josak. I forgot what your name was, sorry." the man who had walked down from the house buried his hands in his pockets as he said this. The other man, who had dark hair, Ichigo noticed, gave him an understanding smile.

"Heinz."

"Oh, now I remember!" he laughed. "Welcome to the job. The Master is currently in his room. He's been dying to meet his new servant! He's not had an unrecognizable servant since he was little." They both laughed.

Oh this was good. Way _too_ good. The two men exchanged a few more words before they bade each other farewell and switched shifts. As soon as Josak had exited his view, Ichigo silently flew up behind the man dubbed as 'Heinz' and dug his elbow into the bad of the smaller man's head. Relief washed through him as the sound of a body hitting the group met his ears. Looking both ways, Ichigo grabbed the smaller man and took him behind the rock he had previously been hiding behind.

A few minutes later Ichigo emerged, suit and all. The poor sod, Ichigo said looking down at the naked man. He hadn't ever really felt sympathy on a mission before, but that kid didn't deserve what Ichigo had just done to him. Silently vowing to give the kid his clothes back when he was done, Ichigo made his way straight up to the front door and knocked.

"Come in." a voice called.

Steeling his nerves, Ichigo pushed the wooden door open and made his way into the house. It was smaller than his, which disappointed him. This guy was supposed to be fancy and rich, where were the diamond staircases and security guards?

"Oh, it's you." a lazy voice said from behind him. Swiveling around quickly, the face that matched the voice popped into view. Ichigo knew that figure. It was him, it had to be. No one else would fit his description so precisely.

"Master Coyote." he bowed, almost shaking because of the strain of bowing to one of his targets, or was it something else? Ichigo couldn't tell. He bit his cheek to still his tongue. Why was he so nervous? _I've done this so many times before_, Ichigo growled internally, _This time will be no different._

Or so he thought, because as soon as his eyes connected with another pair of warm brown ones, something inside of Ichigo changed. Something drastic. It sang through Ichigo's body loudly, and his toes involuntarily curled in his dress shoes. The look on Starrk Coyote's face was the most unnerving. To Ichigo, that look almost made him think that-

"You aren't my new employee, are you?" Ichigo froze when harsh eyes scanned over him. "I should have noticed as soon as I first saw you. The description clearly stated my new worker had dark _brown_ hair, not grab your attention orange."

Taking a few sudden and jerky steps back to put distance in between him and his target, Ichigo pulled out Zangetsu from its resting place inside of his dress pants. The sharp blade glimmered in the harsh artificial light as it was pointed directly towards Starrk's heart. All was going well until the black sword shook within his grasp and sent angry shocks through the orangette's body. Ichigo blanched as he felt the intent of his sword. Power surged all the way up to the hilt and into Ichigo's hand, whispering its denial and reluctance to kill the other man in the room.

"What?" he whispered as Zangetsu dropped from his loose fingers and clanged to the ground. Starrk's eyes widened in confusion, as did Ichigo's own.

"You don't want to kill me?"

"I do."

Starrk laughed despite the situation. "Then why?"

"I don't know." came the quiet reply. A sudden light caught their attention. "What in the world is happening to Zangetsu!"

Ichigo reached down to pick up his sword only to drop it again as it began to swirl and change colors. He cursed as the blade glowed, and after a few tense seconds it stopped all of its activity. It was now completely white, white as snow. Ichigo would have gasped if he had retained any air in his lungs. There was one more bright flash of light before Ichigo passed out; his lean body curled around the sword on the ground. His body still shook with tremors from his swords power, until finally the sword stopped moving completely and Ichigo did as well.

Starrk stood as still as a statue. "What in the hell?" he whispered to himself before scooping Ichigo's body up and relocating him to a new area. He didn't even try to touch the sword.

* * *

Tensa was swinging in the porch swing while watching the dark sky let out an angry roar and bottom out. The rain was hard and nerve wracking. It was almost like an ill omen was upon him. Ichigo had been gone for two hours now, Tensa looked down at his watch. He had been staring at the blasted thing since Ichigo had left the house hours ago. He couldn't help it, he was worried!

Tensa was just about to go inside and snack on something when he heard someone clambering across Ichigo's lawn. Running his fingers over the hilt of one of his daggers, Tensa got closer to the edge of the porch and peered out. A figure on the ground?

He may have been an assassin in training, but he still had a heart. The one thing he hadn't gotten rid of yet. The rain soaked into his hair and clothing as he made his way over to the downed man a few feet away from the front step. As Tensa got a better look at the man, his eyes were met with the sight of bright blue hair and blood all over the place. He crouched down and took the mans face into his palms to access the situation better.

"Hey!" a gentle slap to the bloody man's face roused him. Blue eyes to match the hair, Tensa noticed.

"What happened to you?" he asked in a gentle voice. Of coarse, he was being wary of the newcomer as well. He wasn't about to have something serious go down on Ichigo's front lawn.

The man groaned and clutched his stomach at the same time he grabbed at his head. "Shiiiiiiit."

"Hey!" Tensa yelled as the man passed out once again. What would Ichigo do if this man was in his house when he came home? Tensa clenched his fists until they bled, leaving crying moon shaped dents on the appendages. What would happen if he was taken to a hospital? Was this man running from some sort of trouble?

Decided to take the higher road, and risking himself bravely for the consequences to come, Tensa attempted to lift the heavy man and bring him inside and out of the heavy rain. After thirty minutes of making his way across the lawn inch by inch, the teenager had finally gotten the dead weight inside the house and into a bed. He quickly called the doctor Ichigo used, and went outside to clean up the murder trail leading into the house.

"Ichigo's gonna kill me!" Tensa whispered to himself as he opened the front door and led the familiar doctor into the guest room Mr. Blue was staying in.

* * *

Ichigo was tired, he was scared, and he was confused. Currently, he was sitting in a hospital bed while a very familiar figure took notes on his current condition.

"I'm sorry, if that helps the situation any." Ichigo told the other man who laughed and shook his head.

"You could have killed me, but you didn't. I am grateful for that, at least."

"Thank you Dr. Heinz." Ichigo bit his lip as Heinz gently touched the still tender back of his head.

"You're welcome."

* * *

A smile took over Starrk's face as he watched his new servant take care of the man that had tried to bash his brains out. What a remarkable sight.

He was sitting in his office upstairs watching the computer monitor intently. The sick room downstairs was projected onto the screen, and the two familiar bodies were having a casual conversation with each other while Starrk watched and listened. A sudden buzzing shook him from his thoughts. Looking over at the sword again, he realized it was having another one of its fits; shaking and vibrating against the wooden table it was resting on.

Gently rising from his swiveling computer chair, Starrk made his way over to the still bleach colored blade. It seemed to react as he got closer, and something inside his own body seemed to react as well, to being close to it. Zangetsu, if he remembered correctly what Ichigo had said earlier. His heart fluttered. Starrk wanted to touch it.

Why was he feeling such a pull to a _sword_? And why had he pardoned Ichigo's life like nothing had transpired between them? Questions without answers are useless.

* * *

Ending A/N's:

Uhm, okay. What's up with that, yeah? HAHA!

Nothing else you really need to know. Review for love.

-A to the SHLEY

/POW!/


	14. Has Been Taken!

Heyo.

This story has been taken by: Akrximay.

So it's up to them to finish it! Thanks for everything. Here's a link, tell me if it doesn't work.

www. / u / 4161534 /Akrximay

For the last time,

LLD


End file.
